The short answer
Vet a supplier in the order that rules it out fastest. Confirm that it does the thing you need, serves your location and does nothing you have ruled out. Then check volume, the capabilities you listed and the certificates you require. Whatever the website does not say goes into your RFQ as a question. Check what can rule a supplier out first: the service, the location, your rule-outs. Then volume, capabilities and certificates. What the site does not say, you ask.
Before you start: split the brief
Write down what you need before you open a single website, and sort it into three lists.
- Must-haves a website can show. The product or service, the location, a capability, a certificate.
- Things only the supplier can answer. Price, lead time, availability this month.
- Rule-outs. Anything that ends the conversation, such as a broker when you need a carrier, or a minimum term you cannot sign.
The first list drives this checklist and the second becomes your RFQ. Ordren drafts a brief in the same three parts.
The checklist, in rule-out order
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They do the thing itself. They do the thing itself
Confirm in the supplier’s own words that it makes the product or performs the service. A company that arranges the work through partners is a different kind of supplier.
- Where it lives
- Home page, Services, Capabilities
- Rule out if
- The core service is missing or passed to someone else
-
They serve your location. They serve your location
Look for a named site, a service area or a shipping region that covers you. A map with no place names is not an answer.
- Where it lives
- Locations, Coverage, Shipping, Contact
- Rule out if
- The stated area leaves you out
-
None of your rule-outs apply. None of your rule-outs apply
Search the site for each rule-out by name: the contract term, the brokered load, the overseas plant. Only the supplier’s own statement counts. Silence is not a rule-out.
- Where it lives
- Terms, FAQ, How it works, About
- Rule out if
- The site says it in so many words
-
They can handle your volume. They can handle your volume
Compare your quantity with any published minimum, and your peak with any stated capacity. A minimum above your order settles it. A missing one is a question.
- Where it lives
- FAQ, Pricing, Terms, Capabilities
- Rule out if
- A published minimum is above what you buy
-
Each must-have capability is stated. Each capability is stated
Take the capabilities in your brief one at a time: cold storage, a liftgate, four-color print. Find the sentence that says so and note the page.
- Where it lives
- Services, Equipment, Fleet, Capabilities
- Rule out if
- A page says the opposite. Otherwise, ask
-
Certificates and registrations check out. Certificates check out
Find the claim and the number on the supplier’s site, then look the number up where it was issued: the FSC public certificate search, IAF CertSearch for accredited ISO management-system certificates, or the FMCSA company snapshot for a carrier’s USDOT number.
- Where it lives
- Certifications, Quality, About, the page footer
- Rule out if
- The record is not current. If you cannot find it, ask which name it is under
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The company is who it says it is. The company is who it says
Check that the legal name, address and phone number agree across the site, and that the name matches any certificate or registration you looked up.
- Where it lives
- Contact, About, Terms, the page footer
- Rule out if
- Never on this alone. A mismatch is a question
-
List what the site does not say. List what the site does not say
Every must-have you could not find is unknown, which is not a no. List them beside the things only the supplier can answer. That list is your RFQ: see the RFQ questions to ask a supplier for wording.
Record each answer the same way
A tick in a spreadsheet does not say how you know. For each check, write one of four labels and where it came from.
- Verified. The supplier’s own page says it. Keep the sentence, the page address and the date.
- Claimed. A directory or a search result says it. The supplier’s site does not.
- Unknown. You found nothing either way.
- Not met. The supplier’s own page says the opposite.
Ordren puts the same four labels on every requirement. See how to verify supplier certifications and claims for what to do about each, and the supplier comparison matrix template for a grid to keep them in.
The checklist on four suppliers
Brief: a 3PL near Dallas with cold storage and kitting, and no long-term contract. One pass of the checklist over four fictional suppliers gives this.
Sample data · 3PL · Dallas · Cold storage · Kitting
| Supplier | Fit | 3PL warehouse | Dallas, TX | Cold storage | Kitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier A Strong | Strong | Verified | Verified | Verified | Verified |
| Supplier B Promising | Promising | Verified | Verified | Unknown | Verified |
| Supplier C Weak | Weak | Verified | Claimed | Unknown | Unknown |
| Supplier D Excluded | Excluded | Verified | Verified | Unknown | Unknown |
- A: every must-have has a quote. Send the RFQ here first. a quote for every must-have.
- B: cold storage is not mentioned anywhere. Ask before you count it in or out. ask about cold storage.
- C: one listing and two gaps. Keep it as a backup. one listing, two gaps.
- D: its Terms page states a 12-month minimum term, which the brief rules out. The last two checks were never needed. a 12-month minimum term. Out.
The Fit column follows fixed rules, the ones Ordren sorts a shortlist by. Here, A is strong because every must-have is verified, and D is excluded because its own page states a rule-out.
What a website cannot tell you
A website can rule a supplier out and confirm what it says about itself. It cannot tell you the price, the lead time, the capacity this quarter or how the work turns out. Those take an RFQ, references and often a sample.
The checklist decides who is worth that effort, and its order holds whether you are choosing a 3PL, a freight carrier or a commercial cleaning company.
Ordren runs this pass from a brief you write: it reads each supplier’s own pages, labels every must-have and looks for your rule-outs, for up to 15 suppliers on a Standard search. See what a supplier search costs.
Questions
What should I check first when vetting a supplier?
Whether it does the thing you need, in the place you need it, and whether anything you have ruled out applies. All three can usually be read on the supplier’s own website, and a miss on any one ends the conversation.
Can I vet a supplier from its website alone?
Partly. A website can rule a supplier out and confirm what it says about itself, such as a service area, a capability or a certificate number. It cannot confirm price, lead time, capacity or quality. Those take an RFQ, references or a sample.
What if a supplier’s website does not mention one of my requirements?
Treat it as unknown, not as a no. Write it down and ask about it in your RFQ. Rule a supplier out only when its own page says the opposite of what you need.