by Meghan Belnap
Having solid vendors in place for products and supplies is crucial to keeping your business healthy. However, it can often be difficult to verify the legitimacy of some vendors, especially if they are located in other countries.
Since these hard-to-reach vendors can be some of your best allies, it’s important to find a way to ensure they are safe to work with. To help increase your pool of vendors, here are some important steps to take in verifying vendors for your store.
Consult with Other Businesses
One easy way to verify vendors is to consult with other businesses that have used the same vendors. There’s nothing better than a legitimate recommendation to put your mind at ease. Once you verify the legitimacy of a vendor, the other businesses that you speak with may be more willing to reveal other details about their relationship with the vendor so that you can determine if this particular vendor will be a good fit for your business.
Look for News Articles
Another solid way to verify potential vendors is to find news articles about the vendors and see what the articles say. By using entity extraction services from a company such as NetOwl, you can do a deep search of thousands of articles to see if anything stands out. Given the nature of internet news articles, one or two negative articles may not actually indicate a bad company. That’s why it’s typically best to use this verification method in conjunction with other methods.
Check Website Information
A vendor’s website can tell you a lot of information that can help you make a decision regarding utilizing that vendor. Where the best information comes from, though, is not the information on the website, but instead the information about the website. You can use website verification sites to check where certain websites are registered, how trusted the websites are, and when the websites first came online. If the information you find paints a good picture, then you can be more confident in the legitimacy of the vendor.
Look Into Payment Procedures
A trustworthy vendor will have pro-client payment procedures that won’t place unnecessary risks on your company. That’s why it’s important to speak directly with potential vendors about payment methods, payment timing, and other aspects of the payment process. If you can clearly see that paying a certain company would put you at risk of losing money without receiving anything in return, then it’s best to look for a different vendor.
Choosing vendors can be a complicated process. At some point, you may have to be willing to take a small risk so that you don’t unintentionally limit the growth of your business. By using your best instincts and the steps listed above, you can partner with quality vendors that can help your business thrive.