In a context of growing competition for access to certain raw materials, a well-structured veille approach is an undeniable asset for identifying new suppliers and potential international partners.
Basic techniques
Some initial research can go a long way:
Trade magazines in your industry are usually an interesting source with, more often than not, an associated directory of companies. In practice, we notice that these sources are often overlooked.
The same applies to international trade shows where suppliers can be identified.
Also, don't forget that two names of suppliers meeting your expectations is also the start of a list. Do a Google search using the names of these two suppliers at the same time and you'll sometimes be surprised: a list that's already been designed can be identified in this way.
Once these lists have been spotted, and with a high-performance monitoring system in place, it's possible to keep an eye on any future modifications to them and therefore the addition of suppliers.
Directories
Sources such as Icriq, Zoom Info, Manta or Thomas.Net can help you in a North American context to identify potential suppliers. Here too, you shouldn't overlook sector-specific sources such as Webpackaging in the packaging field and geographic sources such as Alibaba.
Here too, alerts can be created in many cases to monitor any changes relating to these sources.
Powerful tools
Finally, Import Genius and Panjiva, tools monitoring international shipping transactions, are also quite useful for identifying international suppliers. While these tools require a little dexterity to handle, they will ultimately generate excellent results, particularly in identifying your competitors' overseas suppliers.
In the end, while it should support you first and foremost on the competitive front, a well-designed intelligence system is just as effective as a "discoverer" of international suppliers.