What to Look for When Vetting Building Material Vendors

Last Updated on January 20, 2026 by Admin

Buying portable storage buildings can be a smooth process when working with reliable vendors. However, working with vendors who are unreliable and dishonest can cost you thousands. Not to mention headaches. But with the proper vetting process, you can easily weed out vendors who are best avoided.

In this article, we’ll cover exactly what to look for when vetting building material vendors.

What You’ll Learn

• Why Vendor Vetting Is More Important Than Ever
• Key Elements to Look For When Vetting Suppliers
• Vendor Red Flags
• Maintaining Vendor Relationships

Why Vendor Vetting Is More Important Than Ever

Vendor vetting has never been more important.

Fraudulent vendor schemes cost businesses worldwide a median loss of $250,000 per incident, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. This is 72% higher than the average across all industries.

Think about how many portable storage buildings you buy in an average year. A single fraudulent vendor could end your profit margin for the year.

As the portable storage buildings market grows to almost $5 billion by 2030, even more vendors will crop up to sell you storage buildings. While many of these vendors will be reputable and honest, some won’t.

Regardless if you’re buying materials for portable storage buildings or commercial buildings, vetting vendors should be your first step. Purchasing structures from credible steel buildings suppliers means doing your research.

Fraud isn’t the only issue that can cause vendors to fail you. Inexperienced vendors may provide materials that are below your project specifications. Or their supply chain may be unable to process your orders in a timely manner.

Late shipments can lead to downtime and lost revenue.

The bottom line: take the time to vet your vendors before you sign on the dotted line.

Key Elements to Look For When Vetting Suppliers

Okay, now that we’ve covered why vendor vetting is crucial. How exactly should you vet vendors?

There are four primary aspects you should consider when researching potential vendors.

Financial Stability

How stable is the vendor’s business? If they aren’t financially healthy, there’s a chance they may cut corners on material quality or even go out of business mid-project.

Make sure to look over financial statements and credit ratings before agreeing to do business.

Can the vendor handle the workload for the entirety of your project?

Quality Assurance Practices

All vendors boast about their quality materials. But how do their quality control processes actually hold up?

Do your research on the certifications they hold. Inquire about how they quality check materials before shipment. And always ask about defect rates.

Ask to see samples of the products they offer. Not only will this ensure you get what you pay for. You’ll have concrete proof if they try to send you subpar materials.

Track Record & References

This one is simple. Ask for references from past projects that resemble yours.

Then call those references. Inquire about their satisfaction with delivery times, communication, problem solving, and anything else you’d like to know about.

Vendors who hesitate to provide you with references are never vendors you want to work with.

Delivery Turnaround Time

Materials don’t arrive early, they arrive on time. But late materials can destroy even the best construction timeline.

Don’t forget to investigate how the vendor will get materials to you. Look into their warehouse locations, logistics partners, and delivery history.

Do they have contingencies for when delays are inevitable? How do they handle expedited orders?

Since portable storage buildings typically need to be ready for customers quickly. Timely delivery is critical to your business.

Vendor Red Flags

There are some vendors that are easy to spot as being untrustworthy.

Others will take some digging to discover their true colors. But if you know what red flags to look for, you can avoid them.

Here are some red flags to avoid when looking for vendors.

• Unusually low prices. If the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Low pricing usually means the materials aren’t up to your project specifications. Or there will be hidden costs that the vendor won’t tell you about up front.

• Avoid vendors who give vague or unclear responses. If you ask specific questions about their process and they evade the question, keep looking.

A reliable vendor will have few secrets. If they can’t or won’t tell you where they source their materials from, how they manufacture them, or how they’ll deliver them. Move on to the next vendor.

• Can’t provide verifiable references. Every reputable vendor should have a list of past customers that are willing to share their experiences.

If a vendor won’t provide you with references, they’re probably hiding something.

• Poor communication. This should be obvious, but if you’re having a hard time reaching them before you buy. Imagine how difficult it’ll be when you have a time-sensitive issue during your project.
• Missing certifications or unable to provide documentation. Require vendors to provide documentation on any certifications they mention.

Construction and manufacturing industries have tons of certifications for vendors to obtain. They’re there to provide your business with peace of mind. Vendors that don’t have certain certificates aren’t necessarily “bad”. But they could be cutting corners in other areas.

Vendor corruption is reported as the most common fraud scheme in the construction industry, making up 52% of construction fraud cases. This includes vendor-buyer kickbacks, bribery, and conflicts of interest.

If you think a vendor may be engaging in corruption, it’s best to steer clear.

Maintaining Vendor Relationships

Finding reputable vendors is only half the battle. Maintaining those relationships is key as well.

Healthy vendor relationships are a two way street. Both you and the vendor should feel like you’re benefiting from doing business with one another.

Here are a few tips to keep your vendors coming back for more.

Set Expectations From the Start

You should have a contract in place that details specifications, schedules, and pricing. Be sure to include standards for quality, communication, and payment terms.

You should never have to assume anything when working with a vendor. If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist.

Open Communication

Make check-ins with your vendors a regular occurrence. That way, small problems won’t have time to grow into big problems.

Establish a main contact for your business and have them do the same. Then create a system for communicating any concerns or issues.

The best vendors will welcome this open line of communication.

Perform Regular Reviews

Too many businesses only qualify vendors before they place their first order. Then they assume these vendors will meet expectations.

Check in with your vendors periodically to make sure standards are being met.

Are they shipping on time? Is the quality consistent? How quickly do they respond to your requests for information?

The more you review your vendor’s performance, the easier it is to spot trends.

Reward Your Vendors

If a vendor consistently meets your expectations, let them know they’re doing a good job.

Long-term relationships with vendors can come with incentives like lower pricing, priority service, and flexibility with your orders.

You’ll only receive these rewards by investing in the relationship yourself.

Wrapping Things Up

Vendor vetting isn’t the most fun task you’ll perform as a business owner. But it’s one of the most important.

Luckily, vetting vendors doesn’t need to be difficult. Evaluate vendors on their financial stability, quality assurance practices, track record, and ability to deliver on time. Watch for red flags. And once you’ve found great vendors, work to maintain those relationships.

Let’s recap quickly:

• Verify financial stability before signing any contracts
• Research quality control processes and request certifications
• Ask for references (and actually call them)
• Get everything in writing
• Perform regular reviews of the vendors you work with

The vendors you work with today can make or break your projects for years to come. Take the time to vet them accordingly.

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