New Supplier Checklist

Importers, exporters, traders, sourcing teams, and finance teams · Before RFQ, sample order, PO, deposit, or first shipment

Risk warnings

Do not approve a new supplier or send funds until entity, bank, capability, compliance, quality, and first-order controls are evidenced.

Verify the legal entity, company registry record, trading name, address, website domain, email domain, and authority of the contact negotiating the deal.
Match beneficiary name, bank name, bank country, account number or IBAN, SWIFT/BIC, and bank-fee responsibility to the approved supplier record.
Set account-change controls before onboarding: no payment to new or changed bank details without out-of-band callback verification and internal escalation.
Screen the supplier, bank country, shipment country, and known intermediaries for sanctions, restricted-party, and country-risk exposure before engagement.

Confirm whether the supplier is the manufacturer, trader, distributor, or agent, and document the factory relationship if they are not producing the goods themselves.
Check product range, MOQ, lead time, capacity, export experience, certifications, regulated-product approvals, and food or safety certificates where relevant.
Review quote or proforma quality for Incoterm, named place, currency, validity, payment terms, freight scope, insurance scope, and included or excluded charges.
Lock samples, product specification, packaging, private-label or artwork approval, inspection standard, defect definitions, and who pays rework or reinspection.

Collect references, past shipment evidence, customer examples, inspection or audit options, marketplace history, and reputation checks before relying on supplier claims.
Control the first order with a smaller trial quantity where possible, staged payment, pre-shipment inspection, document review, shipment evidence, and clear release triggers.
Watch for communication red flags: pressure to pay quickly, domain or email mismatch, reluctance to share documents, inconsistent names, vague factory details, or changing bank instructions.
Make a written go, hold, or reject decision and escalate if identity, bank details, capability, compliance, quality evidence, payment terms, or first-shipment controls are not strong enough.