What is actually verified, and what is not
“Verified supplier” is a phrase that means nothing on its own. Below is what each level covers, what the escrow gate physically prevents, and the specific situations where platform protection does not apply.
The verification ladder
Four levels, deliberately not merged into one badge. A trading company with checked paperwork and a factory whose floor an auditor walked are different things, and collapsing them would hide exactly the risk a buyer is trying to assess.
| Level | What was done | What it does not prove | Suppliers here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unverified | Nothing beyond self-declaration. | Anything at all. | 0 |
| Documents verified | Registration and licences checked against the issuing registry. Business scope read to confirm manufacturer versus trader. | Production capability, capacity claims, quality system in practice, or whether the machinery described exists. | 2 |
| Document audited | Certificate numbers validated with the issuing body, production and inspection records reviewed, capacity figures traced to source. | That the process on a good day is the process on every day. That is what inspections are for. | 2 |
| On-site audited | An auditor physically attended: walked the floor, saw the listed equipment run, sampled records at source, and confirmed the licence scope matches what is actually produced. | Future performance. It is a point-in-time observation, which is why it carries a date. | 2 |
Certificates that lapse, say so
Status is recomputed from the expiry date on every run, so a lapsed certificate cannot keep showing as valid. Right now 3 certificates on the platform are expired or inside the 30-day renewal window:
- expiredWenzhou Yongtai Valve Manufacturing Co., Ltd.API 6D2026-09-22 · 49 days ago
- expiringNingbo Huaxin Fasteners Co., Ltd.ISO140012026-11-27 · 17 days left
- expiringSuzhou Meditech Components Co., Ltd.FDA Establishment Registration2026-12-08 · 28 days left
We show this list openly because a directory that only displays valid certificates is telling you that everything is fine without letting you check.
The escrow gate, mechanically
On custom or non-standard work the default schedule is 30 / 40 / 30. Money is not “held back as a guarantee” in the abstract — each stage has a defined trigger, defined evidence and a database rule that blocks the next one.
| Stage | Released when | Evidence required first | On a €486,000.00 order |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · 30% | Order confirmed and production slot allocated | Signed order confirmation, production schedule acknowledgement | €145,800.00 |
| 2 · 40% | Mid-production inspection passed | In-process photographs, dimensional report, plus the buyer’s written confirmation | €194,400.00 |
| 3 · 30% | Final delivery accepted — and locked until stage 2 is released | Packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, signed proof of delivery | €145,800.00 |
What the gate prevents, concretely
- · A supplier cannot request the final 30% while rework is open. The request is rejected server-side, not discouraged by a policy page.
- · A dispute freezes the escrow balance and neither party can act unilaterally — no release and no refund until a decision is recorded.
- · Release conditions are shown before payment. They are never added after the money has moved.
- · Every stage transition writes to an audit log with actor, timestamp and evidence, which is what makes a dispute decidable rather than a matter of who shouts louder.
What it costs, stated here rather than at checkout
- Bank transfer / local rails1.00%
- Card-funded amounts3.00%
- Stage 1 fee on the example above€1,458.00
Charged on released amounts only. A stage that never releases is never charged.
Payment terms, and when each one starts counting
“Net 30” on its own is ambiguous — thirty days from what? Every term here names its starting event, because that ambiguity is where payment disputes are manufactured.
| Term | Applies to | Clock starts on | Controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone schedule 30 / 40 / 30 | Custom, non-standard or high-value orders | per-stage evidence |
|
| Milestone schedule (custom split) | Negotiated per order | not applicable |
|
| 30% prepayment, balance against shipping documents | New supplier / first order | per-stage evidence |
|
| Net 30 from invoice receipt | Stable repeat buyers | Invoice receipt date confirmed by buyer |
|
| Net 45 from delivery date | Stable repeat buyers | Logged delivery date (proof of delivery on file) |
|
| Net 60 from acceptance date | Long-standing, clean-history accounts | Buyer acceptance sign-off date |
|
| Net 90 interest-free from acceptance date | Strategic accounts under annual framework agreements | Buyer acceptance sign-off date |
|
Highest capital cost to the platform; never extended to first-time counterparties.
What platform protection does not cover
These are the six situations where a claim will not be upheld. They are listed before you pay, in the same language you are reading now, rather than in clause 14 of a document nobody opens until something goes wrong.
Buyer-initiated specification changes
If the buyer changes drawings, tolerances or materials after the order is confirmed, the platform will not treat the resulting mismatch as a supplier defect.
Off-platform private agreements
Payments or side agreements made outside the platform are not covered and cannot be adjudicated, because we have no verifiable record of them.
Intellectual property infringement
Where the buyer supplied the design, tooling or artwork, responsibility for third-party IP claims rests with the buyer.
Buyer-country regulatory compliance
Import licensing, customs classification, product registration and destination-country certification obligations remain with the buyer, even where we assist with documentation.
Damage after handover
Loss or damage in transit is allocated according to the agreed Incoterm from the moment goods leave the point of delivery defined in that term.
Force majeure
Documented events outside reasonable control (natural disaster, port closure, government order) suspend timelines rather than create liability, and either party may exit against documented evidence.
How a dispute is actually handled
- 1Either side opens a dispute
The escrow balance freezes immediately and automatically. Neither party can release or refund while it is open.
- 2Both sides upload evidence
Inspection reports, photographs, carrier documents, correspondence. Everything is timestamped; nothing can be edited afterwards.
- 3Neutral mediation against the contract
The order contract states the acceptance criteria, the milestone conditions, the governing law and the forum — all decided in advance, which is what stops mediation becoming a negotiation about who has more leverage.
- 4A decision is recorded
Refund, partial refund or release. The decision, its reasoning and the evidence it rested on are written to the audit log.
About the data on this deployment
This is a demonstration environment (seed v1.0.0). Suppliers, certificates and transaction history are sample data used to exercise the platform’s rules — including the expiry and sample-size rules you can see working above. They are not real credentials and must not be relied on for a sourcing decision.
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