🔍 Buyer Psychology · Conversion
📅 10 July 2026 ·
🕐 8 min read ·
📍 SVC Group, Vietnam
4
Audit phases most buyers use
Doc review → sample → reference → visit
6
Certifications to verify
BRC · SMETA · Halal · Kosher · HACCP · FSPCA
48h
SVC response to audit requests
Full documentation package
100%
Audit-ready at all times
Unannounced visits welcome
“The buyers who ask the hardest questions before placing their first order are almost always the best long-term partners. They are not being difficult — they are being professional. And a factory that welcomes those questions is telling you something important about how it operates.”
Before placing a first order with a new cashew supplier, serious buyers go through a due diligence process. The depth of that process varies — a small importer might rely on samples and a certification check; a major retailer might require a full factory audit with third-party verification. But the questions being asked are largely the same.
This article maps out exactly how experienced global buyers audit a cashew factory before committing — what they look at, what they ask, and what answers separate credible suppliers from those making promises they cannot keep. For buyers currently evaluating options, it is a practical framework. For those wondering what SVC’s answers look like, those are provided at the end.
📋 The 4-phase audit process
How Most Buyers Structure Their Factory Evaluation
Most experienced buyers approach supplier evaluation in phases — starting with documents and working toward direct verification. Each phase filters out suppliers who cannot meet the standard before investing more time.
Phase 1
📜 Document Review
Certifications, audit reports, CoA samples, company registration, export track record. Eliminates non-starters without investing time in sampling or visits
Phase 2
🧆 Sample Evaluation
Product quality against specification. But also: how the supplier communicates during sampling, how quickly they respond, how they handle feedback
Phase 3
📞 Reference Check
Speaking to existing customers — the most underused step. What existing buyers say about consistency, communication and problem-handling reveals more than any document
Phase 4
🏭 Factory Audit Or Visit
On-site or virtual. For significant OEM or retail programs, a factory audit is standard. What buyers observe on-site tells them more than months of email exchange
📜 Phase 1 · document review
What Buyers Check In The Documentation Phase
The document review phase is where most suppliers are eliminated — not because they fail dramatically, but because their documentation is incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent. Buyers doing this properly check the following:
Certifications — beyond the logo
Most supplier websites display certification logos. What experienced buyers verify is the substance behind those logos:
BRC: Request the actual BRC certificate with grade (A, AA, B) and scope of certification. Verify it covers the specific products being sourced. Check the expiry date and the name of the issuing certification body
SMETA: Request the most recent SMETA audit report and corrective action log. The report itself reveals far more than the certificate — look at what was found and how it was addressed
Halal: Verify the issuing body is recognised in the destination market. Not all Halal certifications are equal across GCC, Malaysia, Indonesia, and EU Halal retail channels
HACCP & FSPCA: For US-bound shipments, confirm FSPCA-qualified individual on staff and preventive controls documentation in place. Ask when the HACCP plan was last reviewed
Organic: If required, verify the certification body is recognised in the destination market (EU Organic, USDA NOP) and that scope covers the specific product and origin being sourced
Certificate of Analysis — reading it correctly
Buyers should request CoA results from at least 3–6 recent production batches for the grade being considered — not just the most recent one. What to look at:
Moisture consistency: Should be within a tight range across batches (typically 3.5–5.0%). Wide variation batch to batch signals inconsistent drying control
Broken kernel %: Compare against AFI grade specification. If consistently at the top of the allowed range, quality is marginal
Aflatoxin results: For EU-bound product: results should show ≤10ppb total aflatoxin. Confirm whether testing was done in-house or at an accredited external laboratory
Colour grade: Verify against W (white) or SW (scorched wholes) classification. Ask how the colour sorter rejection rate is tracked
A supplier who can only provide one recent CoA is a supplier who either does not test consistently, or does not retain records. Both are warning signs.
What The Sampling Process Reveals Beyond Product Quality
Sample quality matters. But experienced buyers know that how a supplier handles the sampling process tells them as much as the sample itself.
🔴 Red flags in sampling
Slow response to brief — >1 week to confirm feasibility
No CoA provided with the sample
Sample does not match specification discussed
Reluctance to do a second sample round
Packaging does not match what was agreed
No written confirmation of spec before sampling
🟢 Green flags in sampling
Brief confirmed in writing within 48 hours
Full CoA and processing parameters provided with sample
Sample matches specification precisely
Proactive communication on timeline and logistics
Any deviation from spec flagged before sample ships
Written approval process before production confirmed
The sampling phase is a preview of what every subsequent interaction will look like. A supplier who is slow, vague, or inconsistent during sampling will be slow, vague, and inconsistent when managing a production run.
📞 Phase 3 · reference check
The Most Underused Due Diligence Step: Talking To Existing Customers
Most buyers skip this step or treat it superficially. It is the most valuable step in the entire evaluation process.
A supplier who cannot provide references, or whose references cannot speak to specifics, has told you something important. A supplier who provides references confidently — and whose references give detailed, consistent accounts — has demonstrated real credibility that no document can match.
Questions to ask supplier references
How long have you been working with this supplier, and what do you source from them?
How consistent has product quality been across shipments over that period?
Tell me about a time when something went wrong. How did the factory handle it?
How does the supplier communicate when there is a delay or a potential issue?
Have you ever had a shipment rejected or a quality dispute? How was it resolved?
Would you recommend them to another buyer in a similar market?
The third question — “tell me about a time when something went wrong” — is the most revealing. Every supplier has problems occasionally. How they are handled defines the relationship.
What Buyers Look For During A Factory Audit Or Visit
For significant first orders — particularly retail OEM programs or supply chain relationships — a factory audit or visit is the standard final step. Buyers doing this properly are not just looking at the facility. They are looking at the system.
Physical infrastructure
Cleanliness and organisation of production areas, storage, and loading zones
Segregation between raw material, processing, and finished product storage
Condition and calibration of processing equipment — shelling, drying, colour sorting
Cold chain or controlled atmosphere storage where applicable
Pest control documentation and physical evidence of pest management
Quality management systems
Can the QC team demonstrate the HACCP plan and identify the Critical Control Points?
Is the laboratory functional and actively used — or presentational?
Are production records, test results, and corrective actions accessible and current?
Can traceability be demonstrated from a finished product lot back to RCN intake batch?
People and operations
Do staff follow documented procedures, or do they improvise? Consistency signals real compliance
Is the QC team independent from production pressure, or subordinate to output targets?
Can the factory manager answer technical questions fluently, or do answers deflect?
Is there a dedicated OEM/export account manager, or are overseas buyers handled ad hoc?
🔴 What raises concern on-site
Records that look prepared for the visit rather than maintained daily
QC staff who cannot answer basic technical questions
Areas of the facility that are off-limits without explanation
Equipment that appears unmaintained or improperly calibrated
Resistance to unannounced or short-notice visits
🟢 What builds confidence on-site
Records that are clearly in active use, not assembled for audit
QC team that speaks confidently about process and parameters
Full access to all production areas without advance preparation
Equipment visibly maintained with calibration records current
Explicit welcome for unannounced audits
🏭 SVC’s answers
How SVC Responds To Each Phase Of Buyer Due Diligence
For buyers currently evaluating SVC, here is how SVC responds to the audit framework described above — specifically and with evidence, not generalities.
| Audit question | SVC’s answer |
|---|
| BRC certificate + grade | Active BRC certification. Certificate, grade, scope, and issuing body documentation provided on request within 48 hours |
| SMETA audit report | Most recent SMETA audit report and corrective action log available to prospective buyers under NDA or standard commercial terms |
| CoA from last 6 batches | Available for any grade. Moisture, broken %, colour grade, and aflatoxin results included. External lab confirmation for EU-bound lots |
| Aflatoxin protocol | On-site lateral flow screening for all RCN intake. Confirmatory HPLC at accredited external laboratory for EU-bound production lots |
| Sample turnaround | Brief confirmed in writing within 48 hours. Samples shipped within 5–7 working days of brief confirmation |
| Customer references | Provided on request. Buyers in EU, US, and Middle East markets available to speak to |
| Factory visit | In-person or virtual visits welcomed. Unannounced visits by existing customers accepted |
| Traceability demonstration | Full lot traceability from finished product back to RCN intake batch available for any shipment |
💬 CEO Perspective
💬 CEO Perspective
We have been audited by quality teams from supermarket chains in the UK, Germany, and the US. By Halal certification bodies. By SMETA auditors. By buyers who flew to Dong Nai specifically to see the factory before signing their first purchase order. Every time, the outcome has been the same: they found a factory that looked exactly like the documents described. That is not a coincidence. It is what ten years of building the right systems produces.
— 𝐂𝐄𝐎, 𝐒𝐕𝐂 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐉𝐒𝐂
Ready to start your due diligence on SVC?
Request certifications, CoA samples, customer references, or schedule a factory visit. All available within 48 hours of inquiry.
🏭
About SVC Group
BRC · SMETA · Halal · Kosher · HACCP · FSPCA · 700+ MT/month · 72+ countries · Dong Nai Province, Vietnam
Read next
Factory & Cert Authority · Hub
OEM & Private Label · Hub · Conversion
