Sourcing DeskManufacturer or Trader? Use a Production-Role Evidence Request, Not a Label
The short answer
To ask whether a candidate manufactures or trades, do not rely on the word "manufacturer" or "trading company" in a profile, catalogue, or first reply. Replace the label question with a production-role evidence request: ask the candidate to state, for the exact product or product family you are buying, which processes it performs in-house, which are subcontracted or bought in, at which site, and under which legal entity, and to attach documents that name the product and the site. What comes back is evidence to read, not a certification. A supplier's self-description, an Incoterms line, or a screening result does not settle the question.
For country and company/partner risk research, the U.S. International Trade Administration's Perform Due Diligence resource brings together official screening and commercial-guide resources. The page does not verify whether a particular candidate manufactures the product you need.
Why the label is not the answer
A trading company may own or control a production line, and a factory may sell other factories' goods alongside its own. Marketplaces and company profiles often use "manufacturer" as a search or sales label rather than as a verified statement about your item. If you only ask "are you a manufacturer?", the useful answer is limited to how the candidate wants to be described.
What you actually need is operational: who controls the process steps, where the item is made, what happens if you change a specification, and who is accountable for a batch. Those are production-role questions. They are answered by documents and site-linked records, not by a title.
Incoterms can add to the confusion. Trade terms such as FOB or EXW allocate transport, cost and risk tasks between buyer and seller at named points. They do not prove the goods' quality, do not set or prove payment terms, and do not prove that the seller makes the product. A shipment term is a logistics and risk allocation term, not a production-role statement.
The production-role evidence request
Copy the request below into an email or RFQ. Keep it product-specific. Ask the candidate to return the completed fields together with the supporting documents.
Production-Role Evidence Request — for product / SKU family: ______
- Production site claimed for this product (full address): ______
- Legal entity that owns or controls that site: ______
- Processes performed in-house for this product (for example, cutting, moulding, assembly, testing): ______
- Processes subcontracted or bought in, and to whom if known: ______
- For each in-house process claimed, the document you will provide (equipment list, lease, utility record, production record, etc.): ______
- Document that links this product to this site (business registration, dated site media, audit or inspection report, batch/lot record): ______
- A recent batch, lot, or production record for this product that names the producing site: ______
- Anything you will not provide for this request, and why: ______
Do not treat a completed form as proof by itself. The value is in the attached documents and in whether they name your product, the site, and a date.
How to read the replies
Use a review record with the columns below. Leave the rows blank and fill them as replies arrive.
| What you asked | What came back | Names the product? | Names the site? | Dated? | Document type | Gap or follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Read the pattern rather than a single document. Product-specific, dated, site-linked records from the identified legal entity make a manufacturing role more plausible. A reply that returns only a company brochure, a generic catalogue, a certificate image, or documents naming a different entity or a different product is not production-role evidence; record it as a gap. If the candidate says some items cannot be provided, record exactly what was refused and decide whether that gap is acceptable for your product risk.
A screening or risk-research result is research input, not a certification of manufacturing capability or a substitute for the product-specific evidence above. The linked government resource identifies tools for market and partner checks; the evidence request here asks who actually performs the work. A certificate should be checked against its issuer and scope before drawing any conclusion about it.
What this does not do
This article is a sourcing due-diligence aid, not legal, customs or regulatory advice. Knowing whether a candidate makes or resells your product helps you decide who to negotiate with, where to inspect, and what to put in a buyer brief. It does not resolve contract, intellectual-property, import, or compliance questions, and it does not replace professional advice on those topics.
Editorial suggestion, not a requirement: keep the completed request and review record in your supplier file. If you use a sourcing service, send the worksheet as part of your buyer brief so a reviewer can read the same gaps you identified. Any supplier introduction, quotation, human follow-up, or next step still needs case-specific confirmation; nothing in this worksheet guarantees a match, a capability, or an acceptance.
Your next action for this candidate
For the product you are sourcing, use the Production-Role Evidence Request with the candidate and record its reply. Fill the review table, marking each gap rather than assigning a label from the supplier's marketing alone. Keep the result with your draft brief; the on-site Sourcing Desk tool does not submit it or verify the candidate.