Buyer-Side Case Study
Factory Visit Turkey: 610 Ordered Units, None Verified Shipment-Ready
Before paying more, an EU industrial distributor asked for an independent factory visit in Turkey. The buyer had paid about €65,000 in advances to a Turkish manufacturer. After repeated missed loading dates, the supplier said the goods were ready and asked for another €18,000 to finish packing. Hana Solution LLC verified the order on site.
01 · Buyer Situation
Missed Loading Dates, a New Payment Request and No Independent Check
An EU industrial distributor had placed a 610-unit order with a Turkish manufacturer and paid about €65,000 in advances, with about €185,000 of the order value still outstanding. Several loading dates had been committed and missed.
What the Supplier Said
The goods were ready or nearly ready. To finish packing and dispatch, the supplier asked for a further advance of about €18,000. The buyer was considering paying it.
What Nobody Had Checked
No one independent of the supplier had seen the goods, the site or the packing status. Every update the buyer had came from the supplier itself.
The buyer engaged Hana Solution LLC under Production Monitoring & Factory Visits to establish the real position on the ground before any further payment was made.
02 · What We Did
Three Steps Before Any Further Payment
Desk Review and Payment Exposure
- Order timeline rebuilt from the buyer's purchase orders and correspondence.
- Payment exposure mapped: about €65,000 paid, about €185,000 outstanding.
- Turkish trade-registry (MERSİS) records, registered address and trading activity reviewed.
- Address discrepancy indicators found before the visit.
- The ~€18,000 request assessed as high-risk; site verification required first.
What the Site Showed
- Registered address visited: vacated, no operations.
- Actual operating site identified independently and accessed.
- Partial inventory found, mixed and not separated by order line.
- No packing, palletising or quality-control activity observed.
- Photographic evidence collected on site.
Item-Level Mapping and Recovery Options
- All 610 units mapped by order line: production status, location and dependency.
- Quality-control evidence requested; none provided by the supplier.
- Supplier communication tracked as it deteriorated.
- Four recovery options scoped for feasibility, risk and cost.
03 · Findings
Goods Were on Site. None Were Ready to Ship.
| Status | What Was Found | Units | Shipment-Ready? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physically on site | Unpacked, not palletised, no quality-control evidence. | ~490 | No — packing and QC required |
| Blocked externally | Waiting for a third-party component; no confirmed date. | ~60 | Blocked |
| Not started | Production had not begun on several order lines. | ~60 | Not started |
| Verified shipment-ready | Packed, quality-checked and ready for dispatch. | 0 | 0 units |
Other findings from the visit and follow-up:
- Undisclosed site: the supplier was operating from an address not disclosed to the buyer and not reflected in its registry record.
- No execution workforce: nobody was packing, palletising or preparing shipment during the visit.
- No quality evidence: the supplier could not substantiate any quality or completion claim across the order.
- Financial distress indicators: operating signs were consistent with serious financial difficulty.
"Ready" Is Not the Same as Shipment-Ready
Goods on a factory floor are not an order ready to ship. For this buyer, shipment-ready meant: produced to specification, segregated by order line, packed and palletised, labelled as agreed, with quality-control evidence and a packing list that matches the purchase order. None of the 610 units met that standard.
04 · Recommendations
What We Recommended — and Why
| Decision Point | Recommendation | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| ~€18,000 extra advance | Not recommended | No shipment-ready units and no quality evidence; payment would not have secured delivery. |
| Informal coordination | Not viable | No active execution capacity was shown across the engagement period. |
| Recovery route | Formal recovery | Written demand through legal channels and an assessment of controlled third-party access to the goods. |
| Future payments | Tie to verification | No further payment before independently confirmed shipment readiness. |
05 · What the Buyer Received
An Evidence Pack the Buyer Could Act On
- Field visit report: registered and actual addresses, site conditions and activity observed.
- Photographic evidence: dated photographs of the site and the inventory found.
- Item-level inventory map: all 610 units by order line, status, location and dependency.
- Payment exposure summary: amounts paid, amounts outstanding and the risk of the new request.
- Four recovery options: each assessed for feasibility, risk and cost.
The records were structured so the buyer could use them with its lawyers and insurer. See how factory visits and production monitoring are scoped and reported, and what we check for industrial equipment and machinery orders from Turkey.
06 · Outcome
No Further Payment on Promises — a Documented Recovery Instead
Before the visit, the buyer was about to pay a further ~€18,000 on the basis of supplier statements. After it, the buyer had an independently verified position: 610 units ordered, about 490 on site, 0 ready to ship, and an evidence pack to support formal recovery.
Hana Solution LLC provided the findings and recommendations; the buyer made the commercial and legal decisions. The reported outcome ends at the recommendation stage. The result of the recovery process is outside this case.
07 · For Buyers Facing Delays
Warning Signs Your Turkish Supplier's Order Is Not Really Ready
Signals in the Supplier's Behaviour
- Loading dates are committed and missed more than once.
- A new advance is requested "to finish packing" or "to release the goods".
- Video calls or site visits are postponed or refused.
- Updates arrive as statements, not as photographs, packing lists or inspection reports.
Checks a Buyer Can Ask For
- The registered address in Turkish trade-registry records (MERSİS) compared with the address on invoices and correspondence.
- Address changes published in the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette, and any court-approved restructuring (konkordato) notice, which is announced there and on the official Press Advertising Agency portal.
- A packing list per order line, with dated photographs.
- An independent pre-shipment inspection before the balance is paid, with sampling agreed in advance (for example under ISO 2859-1 AQL levels).
08 · Buyer Questions
Questions About Delayed Orders From Turkish Suppliers
My Turkish supplier says the goods are ready but keeps missing loading dates. What should I do?
Stop relying on statements and ask for evidence: a packing list per order line, dated photographs and an inspection report. If the supplier cannot provide them, an independent factory visit establishes what is actually produced, packed and ready to ship. In this case, 0 of 610 units were shipment-ready.
Should I pay an extra advance to help a Turkish supplier finish my order?
Not before the position is verified. An extra advance requested during repeated delays is a high-risk signal. Tie any further payment to independently confirmed shipment readiness, such as a pre-shipment inspection.
What does a factory visit in Turkey check?
It compares the supplier's claims with what is on site: whether the company operates at its registered address, whether production and packing are active, how many units exist by order line, and whether quality and packing evidence matches the purchase order.
See what factory visits cover →09 · Related Support
Choose Support Around Your Current Order
Order Delayed or Unclear?
Independent factory visits and production checks before you release further payment.
Explore Production Monitoring →About to Pay a New Supplier?
Check legal identity, address and manufacturer claims before the first advance.
Explore Supplier Verification →Goods Nearly Ready to Ship?
Confirm packing, documents and loading readiness before collection.
Explore Shipment Readiness →10 · Start With Your Order Question
Supplier Says Ready, but Nothing Ships?
Send the supplier name, the order and the payment position, and the decision you are facing: a new payment request, a missed loading date or a supplier that has gone quiet. A short outline is enough to start.
Hana Solution LLC confirms the scope, deliverables, fixed fee and timeline in writing before any paid work begins. Site visits are scoped and priced before they are arranged.
Independent buyer-side support. No supplier commissions, trading or product mark-ups. Submitting a brief does not start paid work or authorise supplier contact.
This case reflects a real buyer-side engagement. Client, supplier and product identities are withheld; unit counts and financial figures are approximate and rounded. Findings reflect the position at the time of the assessment. Case published June 2026 · last reviewed October 2026.