Vetted factories. Serious buyers. One contract.
Mermnad is an Istanbul-based commercial agency that matches international buyers with vetted, inspected manufacturing capacity, starting with Türkiye.
In short
74% average capacity utilisation in Turkish manufacturing (Sep 2026)
Source: Central Bank of Türkiye, Capacity Utilization Rate (Business Tendency Survey)
25-point factory vetting
Inspection before every shipment
Commission only when goods ship
For buyers
Brands, importers, distributors and project buyers: one route from a brief to delivered goods.
Send a brief
Tell us what you need made: product, specification, volumes, target price and delivery window.
Shortlist of 3 vetted factories with a benchmark price
Three factories that have passed our checklist, with a benchmark price so you can judge every quote.
Sample and a small first order
You approve a sample before anything is produced at volume, then place a small first order.
Pre-shipment inspection and delivery coordination
Goods are inspected before they leave the factory, and we coordinate delivery.
One contract, one contact
One contract for the order and one person to deal with from brief to delivery. We talk to the factory, chase the sample and book the inspection.
Who pays what
- The factory
- Pays our commission, and only when the order ships.
- You
- Pay only for optional services you ask for: extra sampling rounds, extra inspection days and logistics coordination.
A sourcing audit starts with your brief: we come back with a shortlist of three vetted factories and a benchmark price.
For factories
Export orders without an export team.
Vetting
We check your factory against our 25-point checklist. Passing it is what lets us present you to buyers.
Listing
Your products, capacity and certifications go on file, and we match them against incoming buyer briefs.
Orders
We present you to buyers whose brief fits, then run the order with you: sample approval, inspection, logistics and customs coordination.
Scorecard
After every order we record sample pass rate, defect rate, on-time delivery and responsiveness. A good record counts when we choose whom to present next.
You pay only when the order ships.
Indicative commission: 5% of order value. No order, no fee.
How we vet
Every factory goes through the same 25-point checklist, in five groups, before we present it to a buyer.
Certifications & compliance
Registration, certificates and permits are current and genuine.
- 01Trade registry and tax registration
- 02Quality management certificates, checked with the issuing body
- 03Product certifications required in the buyer's market
- 04Occupational health, safety and environmental permits
- 05Export customs registration and paperwork
Capacity & machinery
The factory can make the volume it claims, on equipment it controls.
- 06Production lines seen running on a site visit
- 07Stated monthly capacity against current workload
- 08Machine age and maintenance records
- 09Processes done in-house versus subcontracted
- 10Lead times on recent orders
Financial standing
The business is stable enough to take an order and finish it.
- 11Years trading and ownership structure
- 12Recent financial statements
- 13Tax and social security payments up to date
- 14Open legal disputes or enforcement proceedings
- 15Dependence on a single customer
Sample quality
What the factory makes matches the specification, measured rather than assumed.
- 16Sample checked against the written specification
- 17Materials and components traced to their source
- 18Dimensions, finish and workmanship within tolerance
- 19In-house quality control procedure and records
- 20How defects and rework are handled
Owner commitment
The decision-maker wants export work and will give it attention.
- 21Meeting with the owner or general manager
- 22A named contact for export orders
- 23Agreement to pre-shipment inspection
- 24Agreement to the supplier scorecard
- 25Response times during vetting itself
After the deal closes
Vetting gets a factory on the list. These four steps run on every order after that.
Sample approval
Production at volume starts only after you approve the sample.
Pre-shipment inspection
Goods are checked against the approved sample and specification before they leave the factory.
Logistics and customs coordination
We coordinate the forwarder, export paperwork and customs through to delivery.
Supplier scorecard
Sample pass rate, defect rate, on-time delivery and responsiveness, recorded after every order.
No order ships without an inspection.
We never hold stock or take title to goods. We run the process and the inspections.
Insights
Quarterly report
Mermnad Capacity Report
A quarterly look at spare manufacturing capacity in Türkiye: utilisation by sector, what it means for lead times and prices, and what we see on factory visits. It starts from public data such as the Central Bank of Türkiye's capacity utilisation statistics. The first issue is in preparation.
Get the report when it's published
We email you when an issue is published. Write to us to stop.
Thanks. We'll email you when the report is published.
From the founders
Seminars and talks
Kaan gives seminars and talks on sourcing from Türkiye for buyer groups, trade associations and industry events. Talks are available on request; upcoming dates will be listed here.
About
Mermnad is an Istanbul-based commercial agency that matches international buyers with vetted, inspected manufacturing capacity, starting with Türkiye.
We match buyers with vetted factories and run the order from sample to shipment. We never hold stock or take title to goods, and we are paid by commission when the order ships.
The Mermnads were the Lydian kings of Sardis who struck the first coins in history — the first thing two strangers could trade without knowing each other. The lion and the bull are from the coin of Croesus; the coin between them is the deal.
Berk Kılıç
Co-founder, Operations
Business administration, operations and data.
Kaan Volkan
Co-founder, Sales
Sales, seminars and talks.
Frequently asked questions
What does Mermnad do?
Mermnad is a commercial agency in Istanbul. We match international buyers with vetted, inspected factories in Türkiye, then run the order from sample to shipment. Buyers deal with one contract and one contact.
How do you vet a factory?
Every factory goes through a 25-point checklist in five groups: certifications and compliance, capacity and machinery, financial standing, sample quality, and owner commitment. Only factories that pass are presented to buyers.
What does it cost?
For buyers, matching is free. The factory pays a commission, indicatively 5% of order value, and only when the order ships. Buyers pay only for optional services: extra sampling rounds, extra inspection days and logistics coordination.
Do you hold stock or take title?
No. We never hold stock and never take title to goods. We find the factory, run the order and inspect the goods before they ship.
Which countries do you work with?
We work with buyers in any country. On the supply side we start with factories in Türkiye.
How long from brief to first order?
It depends on the product. The sequence is always the same: a shortlist of three vetted factories with a benchmark price, then a sample, then a small first order with an inspection before it ships. We give you a timeline with the shortlist.
Contact
Tell us what you want to make, or what your factory makes. We reply by email.
Thank you. Your message has reached us.
We'll reply by email.