A supplier's own website will tell you what it wants you to believe. Public records tell you what is documented. The gap between the two is where the useful questions live, and closing it costs little: most of the checks below use records anyone can look at.
Start with identity. Is the company registered, under the name it uses with you, in the jurisdiction it claims? Public company registries can confirm the legal name, registration number, status, and sometimes directors and filing history. A company that cannot be found under any plausible spelling of its name is a fact worth knowing before anything else.
Next, look for a trade record. Public bill-of-lading data shows whether the company has actually shipped the product it offers, to whom, how often, and how recently. A long, steady record does not prove quality, but it does prove activity; a complete absence, for a company claiming years of exports, is a question that deserves a straight answer.
Then check consistency. Do the company's website, exhibitor listings, and trade record describe the same business — the same products, the same scale, the same address? Small mismatches are normal; large ones, such as a claimed factory that never appears as a shipper, are not.
Finally, respect the limits. Registration proves existence, not financial health. A trade record proves shipments, not that the goods were good. Records lag, names vary, and some information is legitimately withheld. Public-record checks narrow the risk; they do not remove it. For a large first order, the remaining steps are direct ones: a video call at the premises, a sample order, and terms that do not pay everything up front.