The biggest mistake D2C founders make when evaluating suppliers is spending too much time on the wrong signals. They look at price per unit and sample quality. They should be looking at responsiveness speed, production capacity buffer, and financial stability. Here's the 30-minute framework we recommend.
The First 5 Minutes: Red Flag Scan
- Search their GST number on the government portal (search.gstin.in). Verify the registration is active and the business address matches what they told you.
- Look up their company name on MCA21 (company registrar). Check if any charges or liens are registered against the company.
- Search '<company name> review' on Google and IndiaMART. You're looking for fraud flags, not just star ratings.
Minutes 5–15: The Qualification Call Script
Call the supplier. Don't email. The speed and manner of their response on a call tells you more than 10 emails. Ask the following questions in this order:
- 'What's your current production capacity per month?' (You want a number, not 'we can handle it')
- 'Who are your largest three clients by volume?' (Reference-checking is legal and normal)
- 'What happens if you miss a delivery deadline?' (Their answer reveals their accountability culture)
- 'Can you do a 100-unit sample run before the bulk order?' (A supplier who won't do this is a risk)
- 'What's your payment terms policy?' (50% advance / 50% before dispatch is standard — anything else needs a reason)
The best signal you can get in 5 minutes: ask them how they handled the last order that went wrong. Good suppliers have a story. Bad suppliers deny it ever happened.
Minutes 15–30: Sample & References
- Request a paid sample run — offer to pay for material + shipping. Suppliers who won't do this are either too busy for your volume or unconfident in their quality.
- Ask for two references in the same category as you (food, fashion, health) and actually call them.
- Check the sample against your spec sheet. Weight, dimensions, print fidelity, and stress-test it physically.
"We reduced our supplier onboarding time from 6 weeks to 8 days by using this framework consistently. The reference call is the most important step most people skip."
— VP Operations, ₹40Cr DTC personal care brand