Navigating Tariffs: Building Smarter & Resilient Procurement Teams

Key takeaways from Beroe’s recent In the Know: Product Showcase webinar on managing tariff volatility and optimizing sourcing strategies

The onset of tariff diplomacy has frequently left procurement teams blindsided with sudden cost spikes, sourcing disruptions and the need for urgent renegotiations. In a global trading environment where the rules can now seemingly shift overnight, the ability to see what’s coming and act quickly can mean the difference between margin erosion and competitive advantage.

This challenge formed the focus of Beroe’s latest In the Know: Product Showcase webinar Navigating Tariffs and Building Smarter Strategies for a Resilient Supply Chain. Moderated by Sunny Makhija, Associate Director of Product Marketing at Beroe, with Shailesh Bhadauria, VP of Analytics Product & Solutions and Antony Vallavanthara, Product Manager, the session highlighted practical ways procurement teams can stay ahead of tariff impacts while strengthening long-term sourcing strategies. It also took a deep dive into Beroe’s innovative new Tariff Management solutions, which have been designed to help mitigate the impact of tariffs on companies’ procurement processes.

Tariffs create immediate pressures on procurement
The webinar began with a discussion around the current tariff landscape, emphasizing the multi-million-dollar cost increases that can occur almost overnight and the uncertainty surrounding which tariffs apply where. The speakers noted that procurement teams have increasingly found themselves firefighting tariff impacts rather than focusing on growth initiatives. A live poll of attendees reflected these challenges, with the top issues identified as supplier renegotiations triggered by tariff changes (33%) and sudden cost spikes impacting margins (24%).

Over the past 18 months, procurement teams worldwide have been blindsided by tariff shifts. These sudden changes have caused disruptions across a number of sectors. Through it all, procurement has been at the very center of the storm. Hidden costs, disrupted supply chains and multi-tier pressures are forcing teams to rethink how they monitor, quantify and mitigate tariff impacts.

Sunny Makhija

[This poll result] is a clear reflection of what's actually happening in the market... Procurement teams and buyers are spending a lot of time in renegotiation because suddenly they are seeing a lot more pressure from tariffs across countries. This is impacting certain cost spikes, which (in turn) is impacting margins.

Shailesh Bhadauria

Tariff Monitoring and Impact Analysis – Uncovering hidden risks
Designed to help organizations navigate this volatility, Bhadauria and Vallavanthara showcased Beroe’s recently launched Tariff Management solutions. These solutions provide daily, HS code-level monitoring across more than 2,500 categories, combining global data sources to deliver accurate, actionable insights. Using the Tariff Impact

Analysis dashboard, procurement teams can connect internal spend data to assess both current and potential tariff effects, while AI-powered scenario modeling allows for proactive planning.

The demo showed how deep tier analysis can reveal upstream tariff shifts and how their effect ripples through supply chains, enabling category managers to negotiate smarter, source more strategically, and safeguard margins. Attendees saw firsthand how interactive, customizable dashboards capture metrics such as total impact on spend, highlight the most affected business units, and quantify risks at a granular level.

Sourcing Location Optimizer – Strategic resilience in action
Looking beyond immediate cost pressures, Beroe’s Sourcing Location Optimizer was presented as a tool that can strengthen long-term supply chain resilience. Drawing on two decades of research, Sourcing Location Optimizer gives procurement teams the ability to identify optimal sourcing locations across 15 key economies by balancing cost, lead time, risk, and sustainability. The live demo highlighted how the tool can incorporate organization-specific inputs, allowing for tailored, data-driven decisions that align with both financial and ESG objectives.

Location strategy can act not only as a tariff shock absorber, but also a long-term safeguard for resilience. By assessing sourcing alternatives holistically, procurement teams can reduce vulnerability to sudden trade shifts while positioning their organizations for sustainable growth.

Antony Vallavanthara

Supplier Discovery – Finding the right fit, faster
The session also included a short demo of Beroe’s Supplier Discovery module within its intelligence platform, Beroe Live.ai, which provides access to over 220 million validated suppliers worldwide. Attendees got to see how smart filters enable procurement teams to compare capabilities, narrow down options, and gain visibility into supplier performance across categories and regions. Combined with the new Tariff Management solutions and Sourcing Location Optimizer, Supplier Discovery can empower procurement teams to translate market intelligence into informed sourcing strategies, leading to more timely, effective decision-making.

From tariff shocks to broader risk readiness
The webinar concluded with a clear message that, while tariffs pose immediate pressures, procurement leaders must adopt a strategic lens, combining short-term mitigation with longer-term resilience planning. By leveraging suites of tools such as those developed by Beroe that can give their procurement teams the ability to mitigate, consolidate, and plan, organizations can quantify risks effectively, optimize sourcing decisions, and make smarter, faster choices despite an uncertain trading environment.

To view a recording of the webinar “Navigating tariffs and building smarter strategies for a resilient supply chain”, including a live demonstration of Beroe’s Tariff Management Solutions, Sourcing Location Optimizer, and Supplier Discovery, click here.