Why the paperwork matters more than the promises

Most problems start the same way. A supplier replies quickly, sends a polished catalogue and agrees to every term. The deposit goes out, and three weeks later the company name on the invoice belongs to a business that was registered last month.

China has a single official record for registered companies. Every legitimate factory has a unified social credit code, a registered address and a business scope that says what it is allowed to make. If a supplier will not give you those details, that is the answer.

The order we check things in

1. The business licence

Ask for a photograph of the licence, not a typed copy. Check that the name on the licence matches the name on the contract, the name on the bank account and the name on the stamps. In China the company chop carries legal weight, so a mismatch between the chop and the licence is a real problem.

2. The official registry record

Enter the credit code into the official registry and confirm three things: the company exists, the registered capital is plausible for the size of order you are placing, and the business scope includes manufacturing rather than trading.

A trading company is not automatically a bad choice. It just changes what you are buying and who is accountable when something goes wrong.

3. Export history and certifications

A factory that exports into your market already knows the labelling, the documentation and the standards. Ask for recent shipment records and any certification relevant to your product. Certificates that expired two years ago tell you how the relationship will be managed.

4. The factory itself

Nothing replaces standing in the workshop. We check the equipment, the number of production lines, whether the workers named on the contract actually work there, and whether the finished goods in the warehouse match the samples you were shown.

5. The bank account

Payment should go to a company account with a name that matches the licence. Personal accounts are common with small trading operations and they remove your options if the order fails.

What to do when the checks fail

A failed check is not always the end of the conversation. Sometimes it is a trading company buying from a factory, sometimes the licence name is a shortened version of the registered one. What matters is that you find out before the deposit, not after.

We run these checks as a standalone job, so you can use them on a supplier you already found yourself. You get a written report with the documents attached and a clear recommendation: proceed, proceed with conditions, or walk away.