How to verify a supplier in Vietnam, Thailand or Indonesia before you pay a deposit

Sourcing from South East Asia works for thousands of Australian and British businesses. It also produces a steady stream of the same story: a deposit paid to a supplier found online or through an introduction, and then silence, or goods that are not what was ordered, or a factory that turns out to be a trading agent for a plant nobody has seen. All of it is avoidable with a few days of verification.

1. Get the legal entity right

Ask for the company's full registered name in the local language, its registration number and its registered address. In Vietnam the enterprise registration certificate and tax code; in Thailand the company affidavit from the Department of Business Development; in Indonesia the deed of establishment, NIB and the ministry approval. If the supplier hesitates over these documents, stop. They are public facts.

2. Pull the registry extract yourself

Do not rely on the copy the supplier sends. Registry extracts can be obtained independently in all three countries, either online or through a local professional. Check the company exists, is active, has the directors and shareholders you were told, and is registered for the activity it claims. An extract showing a company formed six months ago with one shareholder is not automatically fraudulent, but it is not the thirty year old manufacturer on the website.

3. Check the licences that matter for your product

Food, cosmetics, electrical goods, medical devices, timber and many other categories need specific licences and certifications to be made and exported lawfully. Ask for the licence, check it against the issuing authority, and confirm the licence holder is the company you are contracting with, not a related firm or the factory it uses.

4. Find out who owns and controls the supplier

Shareholders on the extract are the starting point. In Thailand and Indonesia, foreign ownership limits mean local nominees are common; in Vietnam, family ownership through several companies is normal. What you want to know is whether the person you deal with actually controls the business, whether the owners have other companies with litigation or debt problems, and whether anyone politically exposed sits behind it.

5. Confirm the factory exists and is theirs

This is the step that separates safe sourcing from the horror stories. A site visit by an independent local professional, not a visit hosted by the supplier, establishes whether the plant exists at the address, whether it is producing, at what scale, and whether the name on the gate matches the company on the contract. Many "manufacturers" are trading companies subcontracting to facilities that have never been audited, which matters for quality, ethics and continuity.

6. Reference the trade

Ask for two customers in a similar market and speak to them. Ask the supplier's freight forwarder or bank for a trade reference. Search the local language press and court records. In all three countries, disputes with foreign buyers are reported and litigated more than people expect.

7. Structure the first order to limit exposure

Smaller first order, a pre shipment inspection by an independent inspector, payment terms that hold a meaningful portion until inspection, and a contract that names the correct legal entity and a governing law and forum you can actually use. Verification and contract structure work together; neither replaces the other.

What it costs and how long it takes

A registry and licence check takes two or three business days. A site visit with a written report and photographs takes about a week to arrange and complete in most industrial areas. The whole exercise costs a small fraction of a typical first order deposit.

Valitros verifies suppliers and manufacturers across South East Asia, with registry retrieval and independent site visits through vetted local partners. See the service or book a call.