The 2026 rules changed what "sourcing from Vietnam" means.
Origin is now a board-level compliance question. Every US importer lives with three facts.
40%
A transshipment penalty applies to goods that aren't genuinely transformed in Vietnam, and it can't be reduced through standard mitigation.
CBP lists
Customs publishes a biannual list of circumvention-associated countries and facilities, and Vietnam is flagged elevated-risk. Being next to the wrong supplier is now your problem.
2 probes
Two Section 301 investigations opened in March 2026 name Vietnam directly, with determinations expected mid-to-late 2026. Whatever comes next, "can your supplier prove origin?" is now a permanent question.
Saola is built to answer that question with evidence.
The trust layer
A trust layer between you and verified Vietnamese factories.
The verified supplier graph
We visit every supplier in Saola Graph, check its registry record, test its capability, and confirm its export history. Each earns a tier on the S0–S5 trust ladder, and every claim shows its evidence.
An RFQ workflow that moves in days
Saola RFQ turns your spec into normalized quotes from matched, verified factories. We collect quotes, compare them, coordinate samples, and book inspections, so you never chase twenty suppliers by inbox.
Sourcing intelligence on clean data
We build monitoring and category intelligence on legal sources: US bills of lading, public Vietnamese registries, and supplier-consented documents. We don't touch the gray-market customs data your vendor probably resells.
AI everywhere inside; humans at the factory gate; evidence in the graph.
The moat is ground truth: the one thing a listing site or a data vendor can't fake.
The products
Four ways to buy with evidence.
We price below hiring an agency and above buying raw data, where evidence-backed decisions live.
Money-back guarantee
Verified Shortlist
$1,500–3,000~10 business daysMoney-back if fewer than 5 qualified matches
5–8 matched verified suppliers, each as a full dossier
Registry data, geo-tagged site evidence, capability summary, certs on file
US bill-of-lading export evidence where available
Origin-risk flag + indicative pricing + English-responsiveness score
Best for: a buyer who needs to find real factories for one category, fast.
BOM-level input-sourcing map for a target supplier
Substantial-transformation assessment against CBP criteria
Photographic process evidence + C/O issuance history
Documentation-readiness report you can hand to your broker
Best for: the compliance manager who has to prove origin before the next shipment. We provide evidence and assessment, not a guaranteed customs ruling.
They offer volume and a clever AI agent on top of self-reported listings, with pay-to-play ranking and no one on the ground in Vietnam. An AI that synthesizes listings still can't tell you which factory is real.
Trade-data vendors (Panjiva, ImportGenius)
They sell records, not verification or a workflow. Their Vietnam shipment data is legally gray, and records aren't evidence that a factory exists, runs your spec, or can prove origin.
Saola
We combine a physical verification network, a sourcing workflow, legally clean Vietnam data, and AI-native cost. No incumbent combines all four, and together they produce ground truth you can stand on.
Saola's intelligence is 100% legally sourced and supplier-consented. Ask your current data vendor where their Vietnam records come from.
If we can't find you real factories, you don't pay.
Your first Verified Shortlist is money-back guaranteed: if we deliver fewer than 5 qualified, verified matches for your category, you get a full refund. We can offer that because the graph is built on evidence.
11.0142°N 106.4102°E · 2026-05-12 09:41 ICT
10.9452°N 106.8246°E · 2026-06-03 14:12 ICT