A supplier sends you a business licence, a factory video and several certificates.
There is plenty to look at. Yet some fairly basic questions may still be unanswered. Is the company on the licence the one that will sign your contract? Does the workshop in the video make the machine you want? And whose bank account appears on the payment instructions?
When sourcing scissor lifts, boom lifts or spider lifts from China, supplier checks should cover six areas: company identity, manufacturing arrangements, capability to supply the specified model, compliance documents, after-sales support, and the contracting and receiving parties.
You do not need access to every internal file the supplier possesses. You do need evidence for the claims that affect your buying decision—and it should relate to your order, not just to the supplier's business in general.
What each piece of evidence can—and cannot—tell you
| Question | Evidence to check first | What it does not establish by itself |
|---|---|---|
| Who are you dealing with? | Business licence, company register entry, legal entity on the quotation and contract | That the person contacting you is authorised to represent the company |
| Who makes the lift? | Actual manufacturer's identity and address, supply/manufacturing relationship, focused factory visit or check | That your order will necessarily be built at the site you saw |
| Can they supply this model? | Model-specific specifications, confirmed configuration, relevant manufacturing and inspection records | That previous experience with a similar machine proves this order will meet the specification |
| Do the documents apply? | Model-specific declarations, certificates, reports and verification results | That a genuine certificate automatically covers every model and destination |
| Who handles after-sales issues? | Model-specific manuals and parts information, service contact, written allocation of responsibility | That “lifetime support” means free parts, freight and labour |
| Who receives the money? | Contracting seller, bank account beneficiary, relevant payment authority and independent confirmation | That bank details forwarded by a sales representative are safe to use |
This is not a supplier scorecard. A missing document means, first, that a question remains open. Whether it prevents the purchase depends on the importance of that question and whether the evidence can be obtained before the relevant payment milestone.
1. Establish the company—and the person acting for it
Ask for the registered Chinese name and company ID
For a company registered in mainland China, request a legible copy of its business licence, its full registered name in Chinese and its Unified Social Credit Code. Use these details to check the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System independently. An English trading name alone is not enough to identify a legal entity. Official business-licence verification guidance uses company names, unified codes and registration numbers for searches. (Chinese government verification guidance)
Compare the register entry with the licence supplied. Review the registered status and any publicly listed administrative penalties, abnormal-operation records or serious legal non-compliance notices. Save the search date and result rather than ticking a box that simply says “checked”. (Government guidance on enterprise record searches)
Where a notice appears, read what actually happened, when it happened and whether the matter was resolved. A conspicuous label without that context says little about its relevance to your order.
The public system also contains both information disclosed by authorities and information filed by enterprises themselves. A financial figure appearing on an official portal is not necessarily an independently audited statement. (Regulatory reference)
Registration tells you which company exists. It does not prove that company can deliver the lift you need.
“Manufacturing” in a registered business scope is no substitute for assessing actual production capability. Nor does a long trading history, on its own, demonstrate experience with your particular model.
If a search initially returns nothing, double-check the Chinese name, ID and search method; local assistance may be useful. A failed English-language search, or a temporarily inaccessible portal, does not prove the company is fictitious. But do not release funds while the company's identity remains unresolved.
Confirm that the sales contact belongs to the company
A genuine licence can be sent by someone who has no authority to speak for the business shown on it.
Use contact details found and verified independently to confirm the sales representative, quotation reference and proposed supply arrangement. Asking the same person in the same chat, “Are you definitely legitimate?”, does not provide an independent check.
This matters particularly when payment instructions arrive. The FBI's advice on business email compromise recommends confirming bank-account requests through a phone number you independently establish, rather than relying on contact details supplied in a suspicious message. (FBI: Business Email Compromise)
2. Clarify who manufactures, sells and supports the machine
“Are you a factory or a trading company?” is a reasonable question. It is not a complete assessment.
A more useful starting point is to identify four roles:
Actual manufacturer. Contracting seller. Payment recipient. After-sales responsible party.
All four may be the same business. If they are different, ask how the companies are connected and what each one is responsible for on your order.
Suppose Company A issues the quotation and Factory B builds the machine. You need to know whether A can secure the agreed configuration, arrange inspection, obtain the right documents and stand behind its contractual responsibilities if delivery or service problems arise.
Neither “A is not a factory” nor “A owns a factory” answers those questions.
Make the factory video relevant to the model you want
Before scheduling a video call, agree on what you want to see.
For a self-propelled scissor lift, you might ask the supplier to identify the production address, show assembly or testing areas relevant to that model, and display the full model identification and data plate on a sample or available unit. Have someone familiar with the product answer specific questions from your requirements sheet.
A second aerial shot of the factory complex is usually less revealing than this:
Agree the scope in advance. The supplier should not need to expose other customers' identities, confidential drawings or proprietary processes. Any operational demonstration should be carried out by competent personnel under appropriate site safety controls.
If you commission an on-site check, define its questions just as carefully. A technical vendor assessment can consider current workload, available equipment, material and product controls, staffing and manufacturing processes—issues much closer to delivery capability than a collection of factory-tour photographs. (SGS: Vendor Assessment and Technical Audit)
Remember the limits of what you have seen. One visit or video call supports conclusions about a particular site, at a particular time. It cannot guarantee how every future machine will be built.
3. Check the exact model and the ability to deliver it
A supplier's ability to demonstrate a scissor lift is not proof that it can supply your scissor lift.
Narrow the discussion to the full model number, configuration version, intended use and destination market. Request matching specifications, the key-component configuration and the relevant operating and maintenance information. A catalogue covering the manufacturer's entire range is not a substitute.
If your brief specifies working height, platform capacity, access dimensions and charging requirements, have the supplier's technical contact answer each item. Where the proposed machine falls short, ask for a clearly identified alternative rather than accepting “no problem, we can do everything”.
A quotation comparison sheet helps put prices and specifications on the same basis. At this stage, the question is more specific: can the supplier substantiate and explain its technical commitments?
Stock machines and build-to-order machines need different checks
For a machine claimed to be in stock, request photographs or a live view of the data plate, serial number and installed configuration. Obtain written confirmation that this particular unit is allocated to, or proposed for, your order. “We have similar machines in the warehouse” is not the same statement.
For a machine yet to be built, it is unreasonable to demand its finished serial number. Start with a sample of the same model, configuration data and relevant production or inspection records. Label these correctly as evidence of previous capability, not proof that your order has already been completed.
Then agree that, once production is complete, the machine's model, serial number, final configuration and factory test records must correspond and be available for delivery checks.
Historical records for the same model may be shared with customer details removed. They can show how a supplier records and addresses defects, but they do not replace inspection of the machine being sold to you.
That is the boundary between supplier verification and pre-shipment inspection. The first helps you decide whether to place an order. The second checks what has actually been produced for delivery.
4. Check what compliance documents actually cover
“We have certificates” is the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one.
Ask what each document is, who issued it, who holds it, what product or activity it covers, and which market it relates to.
ISO 9001 is not a machine safety certificate
ISO 9001 deals with quality-management systems. It may provide useful context about a supplier's management practices, but it is not a substitute for product-specific compliance evidence or an inspection of the lift to be delivered. (ISO: Quality management)
Check management-system certification through the certification body's official channels and, where relevant, IAF CertSearch. Confirm the certificate's status and associated certification and accreditation details. (IAF CertSearch)
Match the name, address and certified scope to the business you are evaluating. Even a valid certificate may cover a different entity or activity from the one involved in your order.
A document headed “CE Certificate” is not enough
For machinery intended for the EU, CE marking is not a purchase permit issued by one central EU authority. The manufacturer must follow the applicable conformity-assessment process, assemble the required technical documentation and draw up a declaration of conformity. Whether a notified body must be involved depends on the applicable legislation and procedure. EU guidance also warns that some “voluntary certificates” do not replace legally required conformity assessment. (Your Europe: CE marking)
Ask for the declaration relating to the machine being offered and the supporting documents required under the applicable procedure. Check manufacturer details, product identification, applicable requirements and signing information. (European Commission: Manufacturers and CE marking)
Where a certificate or test report needs independent checking, use the issuer's published verification service or contact details. A screenshot of an apparent search result, supplied by the seller, is not independent verification.
If names or model designations differ, do not jump to a conclusion. Ask the supplier to explain the brand relationship, model equivalence or manufacturing arrangement, then establish whether the document really covers this delivery. Leave unexplained differences open.
A document can be authentic and still be irrelevant to the machine you are buying.
For markets outside the EU, start with the destination's actual requirements. CE marking should not be treated as a universal answer to every country's rules.
5. Put after-sales promises to a practical test
“We provide lifetime technical support.”
Keep that promise on file. Then ask the supplier to do something concrete:
You will learn more from the response than from another round of asking whether the after-sales service is “good”.
Can the supplier retrieve model-specific information? Can it explain who handles technical questions and spare parts? For critical components, ask how replacements are identified and supplied before a breakdown occurs.
Written terms should cover responsibility and cost: what qualifies for warranty, who supplies the part, who pays international freight and local labour, and whether a failed component must be returned.
If the trading company handles customer service while the factory provides technical support, establish a single point of contact for the buyer. “Both companies will help” should not turn into an obligation for you to coordinate them when something goes wrong.
Customer references can add context, with the relevant parties' permission. Rather than simply asking, “Is this supplier good?”, ask which model they bought, when it was delivered, and what happened if they needed support.
One prompt reply cannot guarantee years of service. It can, however, make an otherwise vague commitment more testable before money changes hands.
6. Confirm the contract party and the bank beneficiary
Before paying, place the signed contract, payment request and bank details side by side.
Check the identity of the contracting seller, the bank-account beneficiary and the purpose of the payment. Bring the agreed configuration, delivery terms and responsibility allocations into the final contract documents, rather than leaving key terms buried in messages.
What if the bank beneficiary is not the seller?
Do not proceed on the strength of “same group” or “the owner's account”.
Obtain a written explanation of the payment arrangement. Independently confirm the recipient's identity, the authority for receiving payment and how that payment discharges the buyer's obligation under the contract. Where a third party or cross-border affiliate is involved, check the arrangement with your bank and, where needed, legal counsel.
There is no need to decide whether the situation is fraudulent before acting. If you cannot establish why this party is receiving the money, pause the payment.
Treat changed bank details as a fresh verification task
Even in a long-running, apparently normal exchange, an unexpected change of bank account should be checked again.
Use a contact channel you independently verified before the change—not a new number included in the account-change email. Business email compromise can exploit genuine commercial relationships; an old email thread is not, by itself, a safeguard. (FBI: Business Email Compromise)
Confirming a company's identity, confirming the relationship between the company and an account, and validating a particular payment instruction are three separate checks. “We checked the company months ago” does not complete all three.
How much verification is enough to move forward?
No set of documents guarantees that a supplier will never cause problems. A more practical approach is to match the checks to the stage of the purchase.
Use the milestones below as prompts for review, not as automatic authorisations to pay.
| Purchasing stage | Evidence to have in place | Questions not to leave unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| Initial screening and RFQ | Company identity, actual manufacturer, apparent suitability of the model, basic supply relationship | Who you are dealing with |
| Before the deposit | Final specification, evidence supporting delivery capability, basis for destination documents, contractual responsibilities, payment arrangements | Unexplained manufacturing relationship, material compliance uncertainty, unverified payee |
| Before the agreed balance payment | Order-specific identity and configuration, inspection and corrective-action records, agreed documents, contractual payment conditions | Replacing evidence from the finished machine with a pre-order sample video or verbal assurances |
For each important finding, keep a short record of what was checked, the source, date, method, conclusion and open action.
Use different labels for “document received”, “independently verified” and “confirmation pending”.
Receiving a certificate lets you record that it was received. Confirming its number and holder with the issuer is a further step. Checking that it applies to the model you are buying may be another.
An unanswered question is not necessarily proof of non-compliance. But an issue material to payment, delivery or safe use should not disappear from the file simply because it remains inconveniently unresolved.
Supplier document request: a template
Supplier verification is not a search for absolute certainty, nor an exercise in making every company prove that it has never made a mistake.
It should leave you able to say who will build the machine, who has promised to deliver it, what has actually been checked, what remains open and who will remain responsible after payment.
That is a more useful basis for trust than a thick folder of unexamined paperwork.
Found a supplier, but still have questions about the company or the proposed machine?
Send Levantis the quotation, supplier information and equipment requirements. We can help clarify the parties involved, review key documents and identify what evidence or on-site work is appropriate at the current stage of your purchase.