Auditor verifying a Chinese supplier on the factory floor

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.

Verify a supplier Get the 10 Red Flags PDF

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.

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

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.

What happens when verification is skipped.

Verify the supplier before the conversation goes any further.

Verify a supplier