Supplier verification
Before any producer is put in front of you, we check four things. If a producer does not pass, you do not see their offer.
- Company registration: that the producer is a real, registered business, with tax details that match the company you will contract with.
- Certificates: that the certificates relevant to your product and destination (for example food-safety, organic, quality or origin documents) are in place and valid.
- Capacity: that the producer can supply your volume, at your specification, within the lead time you need.
- Specification: product data sheets and, where relevant, recent laboratory analyses.
Samples and independent inspection
Checks reduce risk; seeing the goods reduces it further. On request, we can arrange:
- Samples before ordering, with the approved sample kept as the reference for the order.
- Independent pre-shipment inspection by a third-party inspection company. Well-known options include SGS, Bureau Veritas and Intertek; an inspection can be arranged with the provider you prefer.
- Independent laboratory testing, before shipment or on arrival.
Payment methods
Payment terms are agreed in writing before any goods move. Our standard terms are:
- Payment in advance (T/T bank transfer): simple and fast, often used for samples, trial orders and smaller shipments.
- Irrevocable documentary letter of credit (L/C): your bank undertakes to pay the producer only when documents complying with the credit are presented, usually under the ICC rules UCP 600.
- In both cases the goods ship directly from the producer to you, and the documents (invoice, packing list, transport document, certificates) follow the shipment.
Incoterms, briefly
Incoterms (ICC rules) set who pays for transport and insurance and where risk passes from seller to buyer. Every offer states one, so there is no doubt about what the price includes.
- EXW / FCA: you collect at the producer or at an agreed point and handle the main transport.
- FOB: the producer loads the goods onto the vessel at the port of loading; you arrange sea freight.
- CFR / CIF: the seller pays freight to your port (and insurance, for CIF); risk passes when the goods are on board.
- DAP / DDP: delivery to your address, without or with import duties paid.
In writing: what is binding
Every offer states product, specification, quantity, price, Incoterm, lead time and payment terms. An offer, quote or conversation is not a contract: nothing is binding until it is set out in a written agreement accepted by both parties. That agreement is the reference for inspection, documents and payment.