Turkish supplier verification and factory inspection in Turkey: a practical guide before you pay

Before you start working with a new supplier in Turkey, the question to ask is actually simple: who am I working with, and how much of what I have been told is proven? A professional website and a good quotation are positive signs, but they cannot carry the decision on their own. The purpose of Turkish supplier verification is to replace assumptions with documented information before any payment is made.

We wrote this guide for foreign buyers sourcing from Turkey and for Turkish teams assessing suppliers on their behalf. We cover company verification first, then factory inspection.

Why before payment?Most supplier problems are far easier to prevent than to fix afterwards. Once a deposit has been paid, every open question depends on the supplier's cooperation. Delivery dates can slip. Recovering money across borders takes time and the outcome is uncertain. Before you pay, however, you can still ask for documents, speak to the person responsible for production or put the order on hold at no cost.

1. Pin down the legal entity you are contracting withThe brand name, the registered trade name and the website name often differ from one another. So ask, in writing, for the full registered name that will appear on the contract and the invoice, including the company type (for example A.Ş. or Ltd. Şti.).

Ask for the registered address, the tax identification number and the trade registry office where the company is registered. Then compare the details on the quotation, proforma invoice, company profile and email signature. One of the first things we clarify when reviewing a supplier is whether the firm is a manufacturer, a trading company or an intermediary. All three can be legitimate, but their risks differ.

2. Confirm that the company exists and is activeTrade registry records and announcements in the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette (Türkiye Ticaret Sicili Gazetesi) show the company's incorporation, changes of address, capital and management, and decisions on representation authority. Being newly established is not negative in itself, as long as it matches the history you have been told. If a firm describing twenty years of experience was set up last year, there should be a clear explanation, such as a restructuring.

Also check whether the registered business activity fits the product. A firm registered for general trade may source the product through partners, which changes who actually controls quality and delivery.

3. Check signing authorityThe people authorised to represent and bind the company, and the limits of that authority, are set by company resolutions and the signature circular (imza sirküleri). Before signing a significant contract, confirm four things. Is the signatory an authorised representative? Does their authority cover the type and value of the contract? Are joint signatures required? And is that authority still current?

4. Verify bank details through a separate channelA significant share of payment fraud comes not from fake suppliers but from compromised email correspondence. The beneficiary name on the bank account should be the same as the legal entity on the contract. Confirm new or changed bank details through a separate, trusted channel, such as a phone number you already hold. Be cautious if you are asked to pay a personal account, a company with a different name or an account in a third country.

5. Separate facts from claimsCapacity figures, certificates, references and factory photographs are how a firm presents itself. Some can be verified from independent sources; others can only be supported with further evidence.

Note which record was checked, by whom and when. Capacity and experience claims remain supplier claims until they are supported. Ask for certificates with their number and issuing body, and confirm them with the issuer where possible. Keep two lists: one for evidence, the other for open questions.

Warning signs that call for attention* Bank details that change during the correspondence, or a beneficiary name different from the firm on the contract.

* Reluctance to share basic registration information.

* Pressure to pay quickly to hold a price or a production slot.

* Prices far below comparable offers, with no explanation.

* Inconsistent company names, addresses or contact people across documents.

None of these is proof of wrongdoing on its own. But each is a reason to ask a clear question and wait for a written answer before you pay.

Factory inspection in Turkey: when is it needed?Desk research can establish the company's existence, the people behind it and whether its documents are consistent. It cannot always show you the production floor. A physical visit earns its place when the order depends on capacity, process control or quality that documents cannot prove: a large first order, a custom-made product, a tight delivery date or a supplier set to become critical to your business.

Define the scope before the visitThe real work is done before anyone travels. Confirm the site address and the legal entity operating it. Identify the production steps that matter for your product, and clarify which are done in-house and which are subcontracted. Put the capacity and operational claims you want checked into a written list. Agree photo and video permissions and the report format in advance, too.

What to look at on siteA factory inspection is not a general impression but a structured comparison between what the firm has said and what is seen on site. While it varies by product, these areas matter: whether the site matches the address and firm in the documents, the equipment and workflow at the relevant steps, the people responsible for production planning and quality, incoming, in-process and final inspection records, traceability, and how subcontracting partners are managed.

The same factory can be assessed very differently depending on the sector. In automotive, process consistency and traceability come to the fore; in textiles, materials, workflow, finishing and subcontracted production; and in engineering and energy equipment, technical capability, testing facilities and documentation.

Common mistakes in factory inspections* Visiting the showroom instead of the production site. Some firms have their office or sample room in one place and production somewhere else. The visit should cover the site that will make your product.

* Settling for a short, pre-arranged tour. Agree in advance which areas and production steps will be accessed.

* Not writing the claims down beforehand. If claims about capacity, equipment and subcontracting are not noted, there is no benchmark to compare the observations against.

* Visiting on a day without relevant production. An empty line says very little. Where possible, schedule the visit for a day when comparable work is running, or state this in the report.

* Reading the report as "pass/fail". Real factories rarely fit a single verdict. What matters is what was verified, what could not be verified and what that means for the order.

Read the report's limitations as carefully as its findingsA visit is a snapshot of a single site at a given moment. A reliable report states openly the areas that could not be accessed, the documents that were only described, whether the production observed was your product, and the claims that remain unverified. These limitations are not a weakness; they show where the remaining risk lies.

Choose the depth of review to suit the decisionNot every order needs the same depth of review. That is why EnterTurkey offers three review packages with fixed scope and turnaround:

* Lite: registered identity and company status, ownership structure, and the identity and authority of the supplier's representative, within 24 working hours (1 working day). No address visit, facility entry or capacity assessment.

* Pro: everything in Lite plus official-source research, an exterior address check with dated photographs and sector expert interpretation, within 48 working hours (2 working days). No facility interior review or capacity assessment.

* Enterprise: everything in Pro plus a visit inside the facility, notified to the supplier in advance with a confirmed appointment, and a scoped production capacity review; delivered as a report and executive presentation within a maximum of 120 working hours (5 working days).

Working hours exclude weekends and Turkish public holidays. For Lite and Pro reviews, the supplier is not told who requested the review. Bank-detail checks are not part of the packages; as explained above, that is a step for you to take. Every report keeps independently checked records separate from information provided by the firm, and states clearly what could not be checked.

We founded EnterTurkey with one aim: to help buyers make sure their money goes to the right company, for the right goods. Every check in this article is there to protect a payment before it leaves your account.

If you are about to pay a supplier in Turkey, first confirm the legal entity, the signing authority and the bank account. If you would like an independent review before you pay, you can request one from EnterTurkey.