No importer planning to buy products from suppliers in Asia wants to fall prey to a scam or end up working with a company that is a bad fit and can’t deliver as promised. This is even more critical if you’re working with a supplier who will help develop your new product and you need to entrust them with your product IP.
Here’s some advice about staying safe from our CEO:
“If sharing confidential information with a new supplier, performing due diligence and even factory audits are highly recommended before discussing product details and requesting quotations.”
Importers know the value of working with a trustworthy and reliable supplier. That’s why we’ve combined some of our most popular due diligence solutions to provide you with peace of mind by assisting you to vet potential suppliers in China, India, and Vietnam, so you can weed out those who don’t make the grade.
You just follow 2 simple steps:
- Off-site reviews to check the supplier’s trustworthiness
- On-site factory audits to check that the supplier is capable of delivering on their promises
Buy the following individual checks from Sofeast combined together, then perform an on-site factory audit on the supplier, and you benefit from a well-rounded due diligence process for suppliers and save money over buying them individually.
Step 1. Off-site Reviews Combination: Legal Records Check (LRC), Bank Account Verification (BAV), Certificates and Reports Verification (CRV)
This combination provides you with initial due diligence to check if the supplier seems legitimate and provides assurance they are not sending you fake documents.
Each one is 99 USD per company when purchased individually. However, when ordered together we offer the 2nd and 3rd one, etc. at just 69 USD when they are ordered at the same time.
Why do we need to do more than one check at one time?
Maybe you need to investigate a potential supplier from several angles (their legal records, but also their ISO 9001 certificate and their product’s CE certificate, for example). This combination could save you money if you purchase them at the same time.
Maybe you have several potential suppliers to check at the same time.
Or maybe you realize you need to do due diligence on company A (presented as the factory) and company B (which will invoice you) and check the payment details given to you. Trading companies often say “it’s the same group,” but that’s not always true and the supplier might actually have little control over what the factory decides to do.
What does it cost?
An initial US$99 for the first check, and then US$69 for additional checks* when purchased together.
We provide the results of each of these checks in 2 working days.
*When doing a supplier bank account verification, if you have to send a payment in USD to your supplier from a bank account in another country: you will also need to pay an additional 50 USD in bank fees (even if you’re paying the discounted rate of US$69 for the check to us).
Ready to take advantage of the lower cost due diligence check combination?
Step 2. On-Site Factory Audit: IFE or QSA (no combination here)
If you have reached this point your interest in the potential supplier is now higher. The first step in due diligence was passed, usually by buying and performing combination 1, and now you want to get confirmation that the risks you face when this supplier starts manufacturing your product in their factory are relatively low.
Achieve this, as your 2nd step in supplier due diligence, by performing an on-site factory audit.
You can choose either an Initial Factory Evaluation or a Quality System Audit (QSA) to get a snapshot of the supplier’s real capabilities and facilities.
IFE – great for small factories
Sofeast’s auditor qualifies or disqualifies a potential supplier based on their manufacturing capabilities before you start working with them. We also evaluate risks associated with potential suppliers, such as non-existent quality systems, no maintenance, inadequate equipment, incorrect or false information given, etc.
What does it cost?
The IFE costs US$279 per man-day (additional costs may apply for areas outside of typical manufacturing hubs).
The IFE is done in 1 day, but we need at least 2 working days of advance notice to arrange it.
Quality System Audit (QSA) – recommended for larger factories
One of our auditors qualifies a potential supplier based on their manufacturing capabilities and quality system (key requirements from ISO 9001) before you start working with them, or to assure that current suppliers are improving over time. It confirms that their organization and quality system are in place and effective and also closely examines the factory’s safety systems.
A more comprehensive audit than the IFE, it includes the same checkpoints AND also a thorough investigation of the factory’s quality system and personal safety systems.
What does it cost?
The QSA costs 495 USD per man-day (additional costs may apply for areas outside of typical manufacturing hubs).
The QSA is typically done in 1 day, but we need at least 2 working days of advance notice to arrange it.
