Modern CX Strategies for B2B Commerce
May 30, 2024 • 3 Minute Read • Thomas John, Commerce Practice Lead
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How Tariffs Disrupt B2B Businesses & What Companies Must Do
Jun 18, 2025 • 8 Minute Read • Mary Brown, Experience Strategy Lead, Commerce
Tariffs are creating major disruptions throughout global manufacturing and distribution. For B2B businesses, this chaos is as damaging as COVID-19 and hard to predict.
For the first time, tariff line items are on materials invoices. This shows that policy is now real and impacts business operations, budgets, and bottom lines.
The real problem is the sheer uncertainty in every news cycle. Tariff rules can shift overnight. What seems like a sound business strategy may become a liability tomorrow.
This makes it harder for decision makers to confidently invest in digital platforms and transformation strategies for long-term growth.
In this environment, aligning technology investments with business goals is urgent and complex. Leaders must think carefully about each move and its potential return on investment (ROI). They know that flexibility, speed, and real-time data are essential competitive advantages.
However, many B2B companies still use legacy systems, separate data, and inconsistent processes. These issues make it hard to adapt quickly when the market changes. Without integrated systems and adaptive infrastructure, staying competitive becomes nearly impossible.
As trade policy evolves, B2B decision makers must ask: Are we ready to pivot—strategically, digitally, and operationally?
Why Legacy Tech Debt and Internal Complexity Undermine B2B Agility Amid Tariff Disruptions
Old platforms are slow and expensive to maintain. They also lack the flexibility needed to meet today's customer expectations.
The call for agility is loud and clear. However, many B2B companies face internal barriers when addressing tariffs.
Over the years, many companies have acquired other firms, which has led to technical debt. Now, they have a maze of siloed data, redundant systems, and inconsistent business processes.
For example, many companies still rely on legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. They also rely on outdated customer relationship management (CRM) systems and pricing engines that run on-premise. These older systems make it nearly impossible to adapt quickly.
One executive bluntly said, "Adapt or lose market share—that's the choice we're all facing," says Chris Petrini. He's the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Midwest Supply Co., an Ohio-based industrial. "And we don't have the luxury of time."
So, how can B2B companies keep pace during times of disruption when they're still struggling to streamline their internal operations?
7 B2B Strategies to Navigate Tariff Disruption
1. Deploy AI to Navigate Turmoil and Drive Smarter B2B Decisions
In today's tariff environment, the ability to make data-driven decisions quickly is a game-changer. AI helps distributors move from reactive pricing and forecasting to proactive planning, turning uncertainty into opportunity.
For example, AI-powered tools like Coupa can find small trends in customer demand. They do this before these trends appear in regular sales reports. That means distributors can use these insights to preemptively adjust sourcing, implement better pricing strategies, and achieve stronger margins.
Additionally, AI can directly support sales teams. It can identify high-risk accounts and prioritize outreach. It can also create scripts to help sales teams explain price changes with data support.
2. Standardize Data and Processes to Overcome Tariff-Driven Uncertainty in B2B
AI's potential is only as strong as the data that powers it. Yet many B2B digital commerce manufacturers and distributors still deal with disparate systems and fragmented data models.
Different teams use different tools and often don't have centralized data governance. This leads to inconsistent data models across business units and brands.
That's a fast track to slow decisions and missed opportunities.
To move faster, you need to standardize data across functions, including sales, inventory, purchasing, and finance. Achieving this involves setting and sticking to consistent rules for customer records, product SKUs, pricing logic, and discounting practices.
Then, establish a universal data taxonomy and integrate systems into a centralized data lake or warehouse. When your systems talk to each other, the ripple effects of pricing or supply chain changes become clearer.
This holistic approach to digital commerce helps organizations predict pricing and supply chain effects. It reduces errors, boosts collaboration, and allows for accurate analytics. The outcome is organization-wide agility, rather than limited, isolated improvements.
A clean data foundation is what allows for scalable transformation. Start there to build real momentum.
3. Boost Operational Efficiency to Offset Margin Pressure Caused by Tariffs
Pricing optimization matters, but it's only part of the equation. When you can't pass rising operating costs on to customers, operational efficiency becomes your bottom line's best friend.
AI and modern digital platforms can automate labor-intensive tasks, reduce cycle times, and eliminate redundancies. That means cost savings without touching your pricing.
Here are a few examples of this efficiency in action:
- Sales & Support: AI-driven customer insights, chatbots/agents, proactive automated communications, and seamless online ordering with transparent pricing in checkout
- Procurement: Automated purchase orders, supplier insights, and invoice handling
- Pricing & Quoting: Dynamic account-based price optimization and faster quote generation
- Back-Office Automation: Streamlined repeatable admin tasks, ERP syncs, and robotic process automation (RPA)
Even small improvements—like saving a few minutes per task, making fewer mistakes, or improving workflows—can add up to big savings and help balance tighter margins.
A holistic digital view of margin management treats pricing, sourcing, and operations as connected levers rather than isolated problems.
By adopting a systems mindset, firms can enhance their tech capabilities and strengthen resilience against tariff-related disruptions.
4. Invest in a Flexible, Scalable Tech Stack to Adapt to Tariffs Quickly
Tariffs, trade wars, or economic downturns require systems that can flex and evolve quickly, especially to support AI enhancements.
We're seeing more B2B companies shedding monolithic, custom-built legacy platforms. Instead, the future belongs to modular, cloud-based architectures that integrate seamlessly with other tools in your ecosystem.
A composable tech stack lets you add new tools easily. This includes AI-powered pricing engines or customer data platforms. You can do this without major changes to your platform. Additionally, APIs allow developers to integrate new solutions with existing systems easily.
Cloud computing and cloud infrastructure help remote teams and global operations models. It keeps the business running, no matter where a crisis occurs.
The bottom line: the ability to grow and connect your systems smoothly is your business's best protection against the next major disruption.
5. Drive B2B Resilience with Change Management & Transparent Communication
Change can bring on panic, especially when it impacts the bottom line. Tariff disruptions and price hikes heighten tension internally and with customers. That's why clear, confident communication that acknowledges this emotional context is critical.
- Start by involving your cross-functional leaders early in the planning process. This helps address tariff uncertainty. Invest in internal enablement and set clear expectations so teams can stay aligned while agile.
- On the customer side, lean into transparency. Be proactive. Explain any price changes and sourcing updates before they ask. Share updates regularly. Whether through your sales team, emails, website banners, FAQs, or even a quick video from your CEO, transparency builds trust.
- Additionally, sales representatives shouldn't tell one story while the website says another, and customer service lacks context. Invest in shared playbooks, centralized customer data, and tools for communication across channels. These will help ensure that every interaction supports the same brand story.
In moments of disruption, clear and consistent communication is not just about fixing problems. It's also a chance to strengthen your brand.
6. Diversify Supply Chains and Segment Customers to Reduce Tariff Exposure
A one-size-fits-all approach won’t cut it in a tariff-fueled economy. Smart companies are changing their approach. They're redesigning their supply chains and focusing more on customers and user experience. This helps them reduce risk and protect profits.
Start with supply chain diversification. Relying too much on one region can make you vulnerable to tariffs. Consider strategies like:
- Near-shoring: Moving production closer to home for faster turnaround and fewer global disruptions.
- Friend-shoring: Partnering with suppliers in politically stable and allied regions.
- Supplier redundancy: Avoiding reliance on a single vendor, country, or trade route.
These tactics don’t just reduce tariff risk—they also boost responsiveness and business continuity.
At the same time, businesses shouldn't treat all customers equally during disruption. Segment your customer base based on profitability, strategic value, and tariff sensitivity.
High-value customers may justify margin sacrifices or special service guarantees. Price-sensitive, low-margin customers might require different messaging or tiered solutions. Let your customer segmentation strategy guide how you deploy discounts, supply priorities, or service levels.
Together, spreading out your supply sources and focusing on key customers creates a dual-lever strategy for margin protection and operational resilience in a tariff-rattled market.
7. How to Measure the Impact of Your Tariff Mitigation Strategy
You can't improve what you don't measure. Once mitigation strategies are in place, leaders must track the right success metrics. This helps them see if their changes are adding business value.
Below are key performance indicators (KPIs) B2B companies should monitor:
Margin Preservation
- Track gross margin percentage by product and region before and after tariffs to see how margins are holding up.
- Check the tariff-related cost recovery rate to see how much extra cost you pass on or offset.
Operational Agility
- Measure how long it takes to change prices. Start from when tariffs change to when new prices reach customers. This will help you see how fast teams work together across departments.
- Monitor cycle time for shifting suppliers or onboarding new sourcing partners to evaluate flexibility.
- Track the speed of implementing change requests in ERP, PIM, or pricing systems to identify internal process bottlenecks.
Customer Resilience
- Watch the churn rate among your most price-sensitive customer segments to understand the impact of pricing changes.
- Track Net Revenue Retention (NRR) by customer group or industry. Different groups may react to tariffs differently.
- Compare customer satisfaction or Net Promoter Score (NPS) before and after tariff-driven changes to gauge sentiment shifts.
Supply Chain Risk Reduction
- Monitor how much money you spend with different suppliers or regions. This helps reduce reliance on any one source.
- Measure how much faster fulfillment becomes as a result of near-shoring or friend-shoring efforts.
- Track the number of supply disruptions or backorders to see if supply chain risks are decreasing.
Technology Enablement
- Measure system integration latency to ensure updates are flowing quickly across platforms.
- Track how many manual processes have been replaced by automation or AI tools to boost efficiency.
- Monitor data governance by looking at the percentage of standardized SKUs and customer records to ensure clean, consistent data.
These KPIs show if your strategy is working. They measure not only financial results but also long-term agility and resilience. If tracked consistently, they also inform the ROI of digital investments made under the pressure of tariff disruptions.
A Two-Pronged Strategy for B2B Success: Navigating Current Tariffs & Preparing for Future Disruptions
Today's tariff challenges force B2B businesses to innovate to stay resilient. Tariffs may be the current disruption, but they won't be the last.
To survive and thrive, manufacturers and distributors need a dual-focus roadmap:
- First, short-term agility to respond to pricing, sourcing, and customer shifts with speed and intelligence.
- Second, long-term resilience comes from lowering tech debt, unifying your data model, and standardizing processes. It also includes unlocking AI's full potential and creating a culture ready to adapt.
Delayed action carries a cost. Even with a pause in some tariff rollouts, every day without a plan narrows your options and eats at your margins.
The most effective leaders won’t wait to respond. Instead, they'll act with urgency, clarity, and the courage to build smarter, more adaptable businesses now.
The next disruption isn't a matter of if, it's when. The question is whether you're prepared with an adaptable, growth-centric digital strategy.