Buyer decision guide
Review Factory vs Trading Company Evidence
Assess the operating model relevant to an order without relying on a supplier label, website claim or marketplace badge.
Open the toolPrepare a controlled input
The calculator or checklist is only as useful as the commercial and product facts entered into it.
Use this when
- A supplier claims to be a factory.
- The quotation, audit and shipping entities differ.
- Production control matters more than the supplier's marketing label.
Inputs to collect
- Contracting legal entity
- Manufacturing-site identity and address
- Process map showing in-house and outsourced work
- Audit or visit scope
- Quality and corrective-action ownership
- Subcontracting disclosure
Decision workflow
Keep the working basis visible so another reviewer can reproduce the conclusion.
Define the product route
Identify the processes that matter for the target product rather than asking only whether the company owns a factory.
Map entities to work
Connect the seller, production site and subcontractors to specific responsibilities.
Check evidence scope
Confirm that photos, audits and certificates refer to the site and processes claimed.
Evaluate control
Ask who can stop production, approve changes and implement corrective action.
The output should support a decision
A product-specific operating-model map with known sites, responsibilities and unresolved control questions.
Questions the output should answer
- Whether the operating model fits the buyer's control needs
- Which site requires further evidence or inspection
- Whether subcontracting changes the RFQ or audit plan
Check the failure points
- Assuming trader means unsuitable
- Assuming factory ownership means process control
- Accepting unrelated workshop photos
- Ignoring outsourced critical processes