Choosing a Pharmaceutical Manufacturer in Nigeria — 12-Point Due-Diligence Checklist

Why this decision matters more than any other

A new distributor will make many decisions in year one — which products to carry, which markets to serve, what credit policy to run, where to warehouse. None of them matter as much as which manufacturer sits behind their inventory. The manufacturer determines product quality, supply reliability, your landed cost, your defensibility against counterfeits, and ultimately whether your customers come back. This guide is the checklist we wish more distributors had run before signing on with their first supplier.

1. Verify NAFDAC manufacturer registration

Confirm the company is registered with NAFDAC as a manufacturer (not just as a marketing/distribution entity). Ask for their NAFDAC manufacturer's licence number. Every product they sell you should carry a NAFDAC product registration number traceable to that same manufacturer. Our verification guide walks through the exact lookup.

2. Confirm current GMP status

NAFDAC manufacturer registration is necessary but not sufficient — the manufacturer must also hold current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) status. Ask when their last GMP inspection was and whether all findings were closed out. A reputable manufacturer will be happy to confirm this in writing or to share a redacted inspection summary. More on what GMP actually means.

3. Visit the facility

The single highest-value due-diligence step. A genuine manufacturer welcomes serious distributor visits. What you are looking for: visible gowning protocols, controlled access to production areas, an on-site QC laboratory, raw material warehouse with proper temperature monitoring, finished-goods warehouse with batch labelling, and a superintendent pharmacist who can walk you through the batch release process without scripted answers. If the company makes excuses every time you propose a visit, that itself is the answer.

4. Inspect a sample Batch Manufacturing Record (BMR)

Ask to see a redacted BMR for a recent batch of one of the products you intend to carry. A BMR is the production-record document for one batch — it lists raw material lot numbers, equipment used, in-process tests, QC release results, and sign-offs. Real BMRs are dense, detailed, and unmistakably contemporaneous. Manufacturers cutting corners cannot produce them on demand.

5. Check batch traceability on a real pack

Take a pack of the manufacturer's product from a current market source. Read the batch number and expiry date off the immediate container. Send the batch number back to the manufacturer and ask them to confirm production date, production line, raw material lot, and QC release date. A GMP-compliant manufacturer will return this information promptly. A manufacturer who hesitates or cannot trace the batch is one to avoid.

6. Understand the pricing model

Ask for the manufacturer's tier structure in writing. You should be able to see, at minimum, the ex-factory carton price for each SKU, the volume tiers above which margins improve, the rebate or cash-discount structure, and any seasonal promo pricing. Avoid manufacturers whose pricing is "negotiable on every order" — that pattern almost always benefits the manufacturer, not the distributor.

7. Confirm payment safety

Every payment goes to the manufacturer's corporate bank account, in the company's legal name, against a formal invoice issued on company letterhead with the company's CAC number, tax ID and bank details. Never pay into a personal account, never pay a sales agent in cash, never pay against an invoice that lists a different beneficiary than the legal entity on the contract. This single discipline prevents the most common form of fraud against new distributors.

8. Read the delivery and quality-assurance terms

A reputable supply agreement specifies: dispatch lead time after order confirmation, transport responsibility (FOB, ex-works or delivered), inspection window for the distributor to flag short shipment or quality defects, the manufacturer's return policy for confirmed defects, and the minimum remaining shelf life on dispatched stock (industry norm is 75% of total shelf life remaining at dispatch).

9. Negotiate territorial protection

If you are committing to monthly offtake, ask for territorial protection — a written commitment that the manufacturer will not appoint a competing authorised distributor inside an agreed geography (typically a state, LGA, or named market) for as long as you maintain offtake targets. This clause is the single biggest commercial protection a manufacturer can offer, and it is the most commonly missed item in first-time distributor agreements.

10. Understand the credit ladder

New distributors start on prepayment — that is the norm and you should not be insulted by it. What matters is the path to credit: how many qualifying orders, what payment-history thresholds, and what credit period you can reach. A reputable manufacturer will lay this out in writing; one who keeps "credit terms" vague is one who will keep you on prepayment indefinitely.

11. Confirm marketing and training support

Manufacturer support beyond the carton is where the better partners differentiate. Look for: dedicated sales-rep contact for reorders and queries, product training material (slide decks, monographs, FAQ documents) you can use with your downstream customers, co-branded marketing assets if you are running pharmacy-facing promotions, and rapid escalation if a customer raises a quality complaint.

12. Check supply reliability with existing distributors

The last and most underrated check: ask the manufacturer for two or three existing distributor references (the manufacturer will know the question is coming and will pick references that speak well of them, but the answers still tell you a lot). Ask the references: how often does the manufacturer go out of stock on flagship SKUs, how fast does dispatch actually happen versus the quoted lead time, how do they handle defect complaints, and would they recommend the relationship to another distributor in a non-competing territory.

A note on Dizpharm

Dizpharm Nigeria Limited welcomes due diligence — including facility visits, BMR inspection, and existing-distributor references — as part of our partner onboarding. We have manufactured in Ibusa, Delta State under NAFDAC + WHO GMP since 1986 and operate the kind of structured distributor program this checklist describes. See our partner program for the full terms.

Frequently asked questions