Two due diligence files were handed over for the same size of supplier. One contained certificates, a price list and a catalogue; the other contained registration documents, a dated capacity schedule, the certification scopes, a continuity statement and the contract terms. The first answered questions about the company. The second answered questions about the order.
Supplier due diligence: what the file has to contain
Five sections: identity, capability, compliance, continuity and commercial terms.
The file is a working document rather than an approval certificate. It is assembled once for a supplier, refreshed on triggers, and used whenever a question arises about who makes the product, on which line, under which file and on what terms.
Its structure matters because each section answers a different failure: a wrong counterparty, a lost production slot, a blocked listing, a supplier that disappears, and a commercial arrangement that cannot be exited.
Section 1: the legal and commercial identity
Who the counterparty is, and who produces the goods.
The section holds the registration details, the production site and the relationship between the seller and the producer where they differ. It also records the bank account details used for payment and the signatories, because payment diversion is a documented risk in cross-border trade. One page is usually enough, and it is the page that is missing when a payment goes astray.
Section 2: the production capability and the schedule
What the supplier can build, and when it can build it.
This section holds the platform list with revisions, the process description with the test stages and limits, and a dated capacity answer naming the line and the committed months. It is refreshed whenever the schedule is renegotiated, because a capacity statement from last year describes a factory that has since taken other orders.
Section 3: compliance and product evidence
The documents that describe the product rather than the organisation.
For each market on the list, the section holds the certification scope, the reports behind it and the responsible party, plus the material declarations that support the chemical requirements. Where an approval covers only part of the market list, that difference is recorded as a gap with a plan, because an approval gap is a launch risk rather than a paperwork problem.
Section 4: continuity, dependency and the second source
The section that answers what happens if the supplier stops.
It records the concentration risk: which products depend on one line, which components come from a single supplier, and whether a second source has been qualified. It also records the tooling ownership and identification, so that the question of who holds the mould is answered before it matters. A supplier that cannot answer this section is describing a dependency rather than a plan.
Section 5: the commercial terms and the exit
Payment terms, delivery terms and the conditions for ending the arrangement.
The file holds the agreed Incoterm, the payment structure against production stages, the warranty terms, the notification clause for changes, and the notice period for termination. The exit conditions are part of due diligence rather than a later negotiation, because a programme that cannot leave an arrangement cheaply is not protected by the arrangement it has.
| Section | Documents | What it answers | What it does not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | Registration, site, signatories, bank details | Who you are dealing with | Whether they can build the product |
| Capability and schedule | Platforms, process, limits, dated capacity | What is built and when | Whether the quality is controlled |
| Compliance | Certification scopes, reports, material declarations | What can be sold where | Whether the process repeats |
| Continuity | Concentration, tooling and second source | What happens if the supplier stops | Whether the price is fair |
| Commercial terms | Incoterm, payment, warranty, exit | How the relationship works and ends | Whether the product performs |
How often the file is refreshed
Four triggers, and none of them is a calendar date.
A change of production site or line; a change of platform revision or a critical component; a change of ownership, certification holder or bank account; and any defect that reached the market. Each trigger updates one or two sections rather than the whole file, which is what makes maintenance realistic. A file refreshed only when a new supplier is onboarded describes the supplier as it was on that day.
Where due diligence stops and qualification begins
The file describes the supplier; qualification describes the product state.
Due diligence answers whether the organisation is suitable to work with and how the relationship is structured. Qualification records the product-specific state: the platform, the limits and their source, the certification scope and the capacity answer for that item. The two overlap in the middle, and keeping them as separate documents means a change to one product does not require rewriting the supplier’s file.
FAQ
How much due diligence is proportionate?
Proportionate to what a failure would cost. A first order on a platform programme justifies the five sections in short form; a programme with tooling, several markets and a season deadline justifies the full file with the compliance evidence attached. Match the depth to what a failure would cost: a first order on a platform justifies the five sections in short form, while tooling and several markets justify the full file.
Who should hold the file?
The buyer, with the supplier providing documents. Where the brand sells under its own name, the file is also what allows the brand to answer a marketplace, an importer or a distributor without going back to the factory for every question. The buyer holds it with the supplier providing documents, and where the brand sells under its own name the file is what answers a marketplace without going back to the factory.
Does due diligence replace an audit?
No. The file is documentary, and an audit verifies what the documents claim by following a product through the process. The two are complementary, and the audit is more productive when the file exists first. The file is documentary and an audit verifies what the documents claim by following a product through the process, so the two are complementary rather than alternatives.
What if a supplier declines to provide one of the sections?
That becomes a recorded gap with a commercial consequence, usually a payment structure that protects the buyer or a hold on tooling payments. Declining to name the legal entity or the bank account is the one gap that should stop a first payment. That becomes a recorded gap with a commercial consequence, usually a payment structure that protects the buyer or a hold on tooling payments.
Next step
Send the product, the markets and the expected volume to Wecent Group through the contact page. The reply provides the five sections for the configuration, including the platform revision, the certification scopes and a dated capacity answer. Related reading: OEM and ODM charger manufacturing, wholesale charger programmes and charger manufacturing services. External references: IEC standards, ICC Incoterms rules, EU CE marking rules, BSI ISO 9001 quality management, UL standards and certification and TUV testing services.
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