Identity & Ownership
- Cross-check business licence against AIC public registry
- Beneficial-owner mapping — who actually controls the company
- Court litigation, tax-default and customs-blacklist screening
How to Verify a Supplier in China
How to verify a Chinese supplier — before you wire the deposit.
Forensic identity, ownership, capacity and shipment-history verification done by a Shenzhen-based team in Mandarin. Risk-scored report in 72 hours.
The truth about Alibaba badges
Gold Supplier means they paid Alibaba a fee. It is not verification.
The "Verified Supplier" badge confirms the existence of a registered company. It does not confirm that company is the actual manufacturer of your product. It does not confirm capacity, quality, ownership, shipment history or whether the factory in the video is theirs at all.
Most importers who lose a deposit in China lost it to a registered, badged, certified-on-paper supplier. Verification is a separate exercise — and it has to be done by someone in China, in Mandarin, with access to local registries.
What we verify
Four verification layers. One risk score.
Trading vs Manufacturing
- Distinguish a real factory from a trading company front
- VAT-invoice scope check — what they're legally allowed to sell
- Office-vs-factory address verification with on-site photo
Shipment History
- Verified export volumes from customs records (last 24 months)
- Top destination markets and importer cross-reference
- HS-code consistency — do they actually ship what they claim?
Reputation & Reference
- Independent reference calls with prior Western buyers
- Online reputation scrape (Made-in-China, Global Sources, forums)
- Cross-check claimed certifications against issuing-body registries
Process
From supplier name to risk-scored report in 72 hours.
- Step 01
Submit Supplier Details
Send us the company name, contact details, Alibaba/Made-in-China URL, sample invoice or quote.
- Step 02
Public-Record Investigation
Day 1. AIC, court, tax, customs and IP-registry checks — done from our Shenzhen office in Mandarin.
- Step 03
Address & Identity Verification
Day 1–2. Drive-by visit to the registered address. Photo evidence of premises, signage and activity.
- Step 04
Verification Report
Day 3. Risk-scored report (red / amber / green) with raw evidence, ownership map and recommendation.
Versus what you have today
Forensic verification vs. the badges.
DimensionAlibaba / Made-in-China badgesProcubility verification
- What an Alibaba badge proves
The supplier paid Alibaba a fee. Nothing about identity, capacity or behaviour.
Verified business licence, beneficial owner, real shipment history and on-site photo.
- Trading-company detection
Most checks miss this — trading companies pose as factories with rented showrooms.
VAT scope, factory-vs-office address and customs-record cross-reference catch them every time.
- Time to report
1–3 weeks of back-and-forth with overseas providers.
72 hours. Local team, local language, local registry access.
- Cost vs. risk
Free Alibaba badge that protects nothing.
Fixed fee. Pays for itself the first time it stops a six-figure deposit going to a shell company.
Free download
10 Red Flags of an Alibaba Trading Company.
The exact 10 signals our investigators use to spot a trading company posing as a factory — before you waste another week of negotiation or wire a single dollar.