Check supplier references carefully: Ask for customers with similar orders in product type, customisation and delivery pattern.; Confirm the reference's role and contact details through independent channels.; Request examples of how the supplier handled changes, delays or defects during past work.
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Due Diligence

Part of Supplier due diligence

Checking references from comparable customers

Choose relevant supplier references, ask about actual orders and problems, and judge how far each account applies to yours.

Desk Suppliers · · 3 min read

A useful supplier reference describes an order that tested the abilities you need. Ask what the customer bought, how closely it matched your order, what happened when plans changed and how problems were resolved. Their account is evidence of their experience, not a promise about yours.

Choose a comparable customer

Before asking for names, note the demanding parts of your proposed order: product type, customisation, quantity, delivery pattern and service required. Request customers whose orders overlap those points. Someone who bought a standard item may have little to say about a new material, drawing or production site.

A supplier may be unable to disclose some customers. Ask what permitted alternative could address the same question, such as a customer willing to speak privately or an independent assessment of the relevant work.

A redacted case study may offer context, but if you cannot check its source or details, record that limit. Confidentiality can explain a missing reference; it cannot make an unverified account independent.

Reference verification best practices in Australia

Australian government guidance on supplier due diligence
Recommends contacting multiple suppliers and verifying references
Use of redacted case studies
Can provide context but must be verified or flagged as unconfirmed
Confidentiality limitations
Cannot substitute for independent verification of reference claims

Confirm who is speaking

Ask for permission to contact the customer. Where practical, confirm the person’s organisation and role through a channel you find independently.

If you use contact details supplied solely by the candidate, record that route. Do not ask for confidential prices or designs.

Start with facts: What product or process was involved? Was the candidate the seller, producer or coordinator?

When was the work delivered? What quantity and degree of customisation can the customer discuss? These answers show how closely the account fits before you ask for an opinion.

Ask about events

Broad praise is hard to apply to a purchase decision. Ask for examples of how the supplier handled a specification change, delay or defect, if any occurred:

  • Which agreed requirement was hardest to meet?
  • How were changes approved and passed to production?
  • What evidence did you receive before dispatch?
  • If something went wrong, who responded and what was the outcome?
  • Would you place a similar order again? Under what conditions?

Let the customer say that nothing significant went wrong. Separate what they observed from what the supplier told them. A customer who dealt only with an intermediary may be unable to confirm the named factory even if delivery went well.

How to conduct a structured reference check

  1. Confirm scope and contextWhat product, quantity, and customisation were involved?
  2. Explore challengesHow were specification changes managed? What happened if there was a defect?
  3. Assess response and resolutionWho responded? What was the outcome?
  4. Evaluate future intentWould you place a similar order again? Under what conditions?

Decide how much weight the account deserves

Record the customer’s role, how you reached them, the similarities and differences between orders, the events described and any point you could not check. Repeat standard deliveries may support a reliability judgement but offer less evidence for an untried customised product or a new site.

Seek another reference or different evidence if the account leaves a critical question open. Australian government supplier guidance recommends requesting references and contacting other businesses a supplier deals with.

Comparing reference quality: standard vs. custom orders

Standard delivery order
Supports reliability claims; limited insight into innovation or problem-solving
Customised product or new production site
Requires strong evidence of adaptability; standard references offer less relevance

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