When a trade-show exhibitor tells you they are the factory, treat that statement as a claim that needs evidence. Your aim is to clarify the exhibitor role without making assumptions, gather verifiable records, and create a clear decision record. Start at the booth with targeted questions, then move the exchange into documented channels for follow-up.

Ask direct role and location questions at the booth

Begin with simple, factual questions that separate sales presence from manufacturing responsibility. Ask whether the exhibitor is the legal manufacturer, a branch office, a trading company, or an agent. Request the registered company name they are representing at the show and the factory address they mean when they say factory.

Confirm who you are speaking with and their job title. Collect a business card, the company registration name exactly as it appears, and the best email for sending document requests. These immediate facts set the baseline for later checks and reduce ambiguity when different names appear on paperwork.

• Who is the legal manufacturer for the product you showed?
• What is the exact factory address and the local city or district?
• What is your role and official title at the company?

Request specific documentary and visual evidence

Ask for documents and visuals that are quick to share and that you can later verify. Request a copy or photo of the business license or manufacturing license, factory interior photos showing production lines, recent quality or audit reports if available, and images of tooling or molds related to your type of product.

Also ask for a sample production run or batch photos with dated labels and packing. These items let you check consistency between the exhibitor claim and actual factory operations when you perform follow-up checks or upload the materials to your Supplier Evidence Library.

• Business or manufacturing license in the factory name
• Recent photos of production lines, packing area, and toolroom
• Sample product batch images with date codes and labels
• Any recent third-party audit or inspection report

Clarify production capability and ownership questions

Probe capacity and tooling ownership to see if they manufacture or only assemble. Ask about typical monthly output for the product, how many assembly lines or machines produce it, and whether molds or tooling are owned by the company or a third party. Ask for lead times and minimum order quantities tied to their claimed factory capacity.

If they claim to make custom tooling, request photos of the tooling with serials or identifying marks and ask who holds intellectual property for designs. These answers help you decide whether an on-site visit is necessary to confirm ownership and capacity before you move the sourcing decision forward.

• Typical monthly output for this product
• Number of dedicated lines or machines producing it
• Who owns tooling and design rights

Plan on-site verification and independent checks

If the responses and documents look consistent, arrange the next verification step. Prefer a scheduled factory visit or a virtual walk-through by video at a prearranged time. When a visit is not feasible, propose a third-party inspection or audit and ask whether the factory accepts independent inspectors and which inspection firms have previously worked there.

Define what the visit should confirm: physical presence of the production lines, workforce numbers, storage and packing operations, and that the factory name on the license matches signage and site documents. Record agreed dates and contacts so the visit scope and responsibilities are clear in your decision record.

• Offer a scheduled video tour with time stamp
• Request acceptance of third-party inspection and suggested firms
• Agree on what the visit should verify and who will host it

Watch for red flags and inconsistencies

Compare names, addresses, and photos across all materials. Red flags include different registered names on the license versus the booth, an address that points to a trading office rather than a factory zone, or production photos that look staged without showing staff, machine labels, or date marks. Note any evasive answers about tooling ownership or refusal to allow inspections.

Treat each inconsistency as a point to resolve rather than immediate disqualification. Document the mismatch, ask for clarification, and decide whether the discrepancy is resolvable with more evidence or requires an independent check. A structured record of inconsistencies protects your later sourcing decisions.

• Mismatch between company name on license and the exhibitor name
• Booth claims factory but address resolves to an office building
• Refusal to permit site visit or third-party inspection

Document findings and plan the next sourcing decision

Capture every exchange in a structured record. Enter booth notes, copies of documents, photo timestamps, and agreed follow-up actions into your Supplier Evidence Library. Link any scheduled audits, video tours, or sample shipments to the same file so you can see whether the exhibitor claim holds across multiple verification steps.

Use that file to decide your next sourcing step: request samples and a trial purchase, book an on-site audit, or pause until inconsistencies are resolved. Record the decision rationale, the evidence that supported it, and the date for any recheck. This visible decision trail makes later supplier onboarding or escalation straightforward.

• Store all booth documents in the Supplier Evidence Library
• Attach planned audit or visit dates and contact names
• Record the decision and the minimum evidence needed to proceed

Record the exhibitor name, requested documents, and a planned verification date in your Supplier Evidence Library.