Two research products look at a company from public sources, and they answer different questions. Supplier Verification checks whether a supplier is what it says before an order or a prepayment. Commercial Due Diligence builds a wider commercial background on a counterparty you may appoint, buy from or acquire. This page compares them by the question each answers, what each reads and what each leaves open. Neither is legal due diligence, a credit report or a screening.
A first order or a prepayment to a supplier you cannot check yourself asks a narrow question: does this company exist as described, and do its own statements agree with the record? An agreement that ties you to a distributor, an agent or a major supplier, or an acquisition, asks what the company's background looks like as a whole: who stands behind it, where it operates and what public sources say about how it deals with others. In both, findings are classed as verified fact, inference, unavailable or client-provided, and an open point is stated plainly.
A finding in one review that needs a wider look becomes the brief for the other.
Scope is agreed before work starts. The rows follow the scope of each product.
| Question | Supplier Verification | Commercial Due Diligence |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Does the supplier exist as described, before an order or prepayment? | What does the commercial background of a counterparty look like before a commitment? |
| Registry and licence | Registry and business-licence record where public | Registry and ownership record where public |
| Website and presence | Website, domain and trade-presence consistency | Operational footprint and website consistency |
| Public reputation | Not part of the review | Public commercial reputation review |
| How problems are listed | Discrepancies and open points, each with its source | Red-flag summary with sources |
| Typical subject | A supplier you cannot check yourself | A distributor, agent, supplier or acquisition target |
| What it leaves open | Whatever the public record does not show | Whatever the public record does not show |
Neither is legal due diligence, a credit report or a screening of individuals.
Supplier Verification fits: it compares the supplier's statements with the record before money moves.
Commercial Due Diligence fits: ownership where public, footprint and public dealings matter once you are tied in.
Commercial Due Diligence covers ownership and footprint where public; financial and legal work is listed as outside it.
Research reports what can be established from public and provided sources. It is not a guarantee about a counterparty's future conduct and not legal advice.
The scope is agreed before work starts. A finding that needs a wider look becomes the brief for a new scope.
No. Each states what reviewed sources show and what they do not.
Describe the decision and what it commits you to in the form.
No obligation. We read your request and reply with a straight answer.
Tell us what you need to find out and by when. We confirm scope before any work starts.
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