The question is not "is this supplier serious?" but "what happens if they fall over?". A supply break on a single-sourced component stops an entire production line; emergency recovery routinely costs ten times the part price.
We qualify on four axes. Legal first: does the company actually exist, who runs it, is the EU VAT number valid in VIES, is the entity on a sanctions list. Financial next: we read filed accounts, equity level, revenue trend and payment behaviour. A supplier under cash strain will ask for one deposit, then a second.
Then technical — and this is where the site visit earns its keep. We look at the real machine park, equipment age, the state of metrology, incoming-inspection organisation, document control, housekeeping and safety — still the best indirect indicators of a workshop’s discipline. Plenty is visible in two hours on site and never visible in a file.
The fourth axis is now unavoidable: non-financial compliance. Between CSRD, due-diligence law and your own customers’ requirements, you must be able to document the origin of what you buy. We collect the attestations, trace the chain to tier-2 where feasible, and flag grey areas rather than paper over them.
What you receive
- Legal checks: existence, directors, EU VAT number, sanctions lists
- Financial analysis: accounts, exposure, payment behaviour, default risk
- Certification verification (ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, sector schemes)
- Workshop visit with audit checklist and photo report
- Risk score and approval opinion
