Supplier qualification checklist
A printable 45-point checklist covering corporate standing, financial health, technical capability, quality, delivery, ESG and references. Attach it to every RFQ and require suppliers to respond in writing.
Use this checklist during pre-qualification, before shortlisting and again before contract signature. Every "No" or "Not provided" is a documented risk that either kills the bid or is priced into a mitigation clause.
1. Corporate & legal standing
Confirm the supplier is a real, solvent legal entity that can sign, invoice and be held accountable in your jurisdiction.
- Registered legal name, entity type and country of incorporation
- Company registration number and tax ID (VAT/GST/EIN)
- Ultimate beneficial owner(s) disclosed
- Sanctions / PEP / adverse-media screen completed
- Years in business (target: ≥ 5 for turnkey scope)
- Certificate of good standing or equivalent registry extract
- Litigation history disclosed (last 5 years)
2. Financial health
Under-capitalised suppliers are the single biggest cause of aquaculture project delays. Verify capacity to carry your order.
- Audited financial statements (last 3 years)
- Annual revenue ≥ 5× your contract value
- Positive operating cash flow in last 2 years
- Debt-to-equity ratio disclosed
- Bank references and credit rating (D&B, Coface, Sinosure, etc.)
- Performance bond / advance-payment guarantee capacity
- Insurance: product liability, professional indemnity, marine cargo
3. Technical capability
The supplier must have designed, manufactured and commissioned the exact scope you are buying — not an adjacent one.
- In-house engineering team size and disciplines (process, mechanical, controls)
- Manufacturing footprint: owned vs. subcontracted (with % of scope)
- Production capacity vs. current backlog (months)
- Reference list of ≥ 5 projects of similar species, capacity and system type
- Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) protocol available for review
- Spare parts and after-sales network in your region
- Digital twin / SCADA / remote-monitoring capability
4. Quality & compliance
Certifications alone are not enough — verify scope, expiry and that the certificate covers the manufacturing site quoting you.
- ISO 9001 quality management (certificate + scope)
- ISO 14001 environmental / ISO 45001 occupational health (if required)
- CE, UL, ASME, NSF, EAC or destination-country marks for equipment
- Food-contact material certificates (where applicable)
- Welding qualifications (ASME IX, EN 15085) for pressure/structural work
- HACCP / ASC / BAP alignment for processing & feed-related scope
- Non-conformance rate and warranty claim history disclosed
5. Delivery, warranty & logistics
Lock down how the equipment arrives, who commissions it and what happens when something breaks in year two.
- Lead time from PO to FAT, and FAT to site delivery
- Incoterms 2020 offered (EXW, FCA, CIF, DAP, DDP)
- Packing standard: export-grade, seaworthy, containerised
- Site supervision / commissioning days included
- Warranty duration and coverage (parts, labour, travel)
- Guaranteed spare-parts availability window (≥ 10 years)
- Training programme for operator and maintenance staff
6. ESG, biosecurity & ethics
Lenders, DFIs and off-takers increasingly require documented ESG and biosecurity posture from every Tier-1 supplier.
- Anti-bribery & anti-corruption policy (ISO 37001 or equivalent)
- Modern-slavery / forced-labour statement
- Biosecurity protocol for equipment shipped between farms
- Environmental footprint disclosure (Scope 1–2 emissions minimum)
- Data-privacy and cybersecurity posture for connected equipment
- Whistleblower / grievance mechanism
7. References & site visits
Never sign without speaking to a real operator running the exact system in the same climate zone.
- Minimum 3 client references contacted (same species and system)
- At least 1 reference project ≥ 2 years in operation
- Factory audit completed (physical or verified virtual)
- Operating reference site visit completed
- Independent third-party inspection agreed for FAT and SAT
Automatic red flags
If any of the following are true, the supplier should not proceed to shortlist without a written mitigation plan approved by the Owner.
- •Supplier refuses to share audited financials or reference contacts.
- •Certificates are expired, scoped to a different site, or issued by unaccredited bodies.
- •Reference projects are all in one geography or all under 12 months old.
- •No documented FAT / SAT protocol — commissioning is 'ad hoc on site'.
- •Warranty scope excludes labour, travel or biological performance guarantees.
- •Payment terms demand > 30% before FAT with no bank guarantee offered.
Final qualification decision
Short answer
What do buyers need to know about Supplier Qualification Checklist?
Supplier Qualification Checklist affects both project cost and project risk, so it belongs in the specification stage rather than the purchasing stage. This page sets out what commercial buyers assess, what typically drives cost and lead time, and which questions to put to suppliers before signing. You can turn any of it into a confidential RFQ in a few minutes.
- Who it is for:
- Investors, operators and project developers specifying commercial systems
- Cost drivers:
- Capacity, water source, energy price, permitting and logistics
- Next step:
- Turn the requirement into a confidential RFQ
- Cost to buyers:
- No fee charged to the buyer
What do buyers need to know about Supplier Qualification Checklist?
Supplier Qualification Checklist affects both project cost and project risk, so it belongs in the specification stage rather than the purchasing stage. This page sets out what commercial buyers assess, what typically drives cost and lead time, and which questions to put to suppliers before signing. You can turn any of it into a confidential RFQ in a few minutes.
How does FishMatch Group source suppliers for this requirement?
You submit one structured request. We translate it into a technical RFQ, run it against qualified manufacturers and integrators in the relevant categories, and return normalised quotations you can compare side by side on scope, lead time and total cost of ownership.
Do buyers see supplier names during the sourcing process?
No. Supplier identities stay confidential during discovery and evaluation. You receive anonymised, comparable technical and commercial packages, and introductions happen only after both sides are qualified and agree to proceed.
Before you request quotes
Equipment scope
What equipment does a commercial aquaculture project actually need?
A grow-out project typically needs holding infrastructure (tanks, ponds or cages), water movement (pumps, piping, valves), aeration or oxygenation, water treatment appropriate to the system, feeding equipment, grading and handling gear, monitoring and alarms, and backup power. RAS adds mechanical filtration, biofiltration, degassing, disinfection and tighter process control. Hatchery and processing scopes are specified separately.
Which equipment should be specified before requesting quotes?
Specify the items whose sizing changes everything downstream: design biomass and stocking density, water exchange or recirculation rate, oxygen demand at peak temperature, and installed pumping head. With those four fixed, suppliers can quote aeration, filtration, pumps and power on the same basis. FishMatch calculators produce these figures and attach them to the RFQ.
Can equipment be sourced in stages?
Yes, and phased procurement is common. The usual sequence is water supply and holding infrastructure, then aeration and treatment, then automation and monitoring, then processing and cold chain. Staging works when interfaces and capacity headroom are defined at the start; otherwise later phases force replacement rather than addition.
Supplier selection criteria
How should a buyer compare aquaculture suppliers?
Compare on evidence, not on presentation: delivered projects at a similar scale and climate, engineering support during design, lead time commitments, spare-part and service availability in your region, certification and testing documentation, payment and warranty terms, and willingness to quote against your specification rather than substituting a catalogue package.
What are the warning signs in a supplier quotation?
Treat these as review triggers: no itemised scope, guaranteed biological or financial performance, no named delivery terms or lead time, no spare-parts or service statement, unclear responsibility for installation and commissioning, and equipment sizing that does not reference your water temperature, oxygen demand or biomass targets.
How does FishMatch handle supplier selection?
FishMatch is an independent sourcing layer, not a manufacturer or reseller. Requirements are structured into a single technical RFQ and routed to relevant producers; buyers receive comparable offers without supplier identities being exposed before they choose to proceed. Selection stays with the buyer — FishMatch standardises the comparison basis.