RISK & RESILIENCE
He emphasises:“ Procurement leaders need to be thinking about resiliency: what’ s Plan B, C and D? Where do domestic sources exist? How can they diversify their supplier networks, reduce reliance on single regions and explore nearshore or domestic alternatives?”
This proactive approach involves several key strategies:
1. Supplier diversification: Expanding networks domestically or to more tariff-friendly international partners
2. Supply chain agility: Identifying secondary and tertiary suppliers for critical materials
3. Strengthened logistics agreements: Establishing robust SLAs to lock in competitive shipping rates
4. Structured transportation planning: Continuously evaluating shipping lanes and rate fluctuations
Edmund particularly emphasises the importance of agility in today’ s volatile trade environment:“ The ability to move demand from one current supplier to another current supplier is key.”
The role of AI in modern procurement With 90 % of industry respondents to Arkestro’ s survey recognising the importance of AI and procurement technology in managing cost fluctuations and supplier risks, Edmund highlights how these tools can transform procurement operations.
He explains:“ AI-driven predictive procurement tools help procurement leaders centralise processes and create record systems and databases that operate as a single source of truth for key records and metrics, and being able to compare changes against what-if benchmarks quickly on the fly.”
Emerging technologies offer several critical capabilities for navigating trade uncertainties:
• Real-time risk assessment and supplier alternatives identification
• Enhanced contract management and regulatory compliance
• Rapid scenario modelling for tariff impact analysis
“ To see this new fast-moving landscape as an opportunity rather than a headwind, teams are using the one to three AI tools that can give them the fastest leverage,” notes Edmund.
Balancing economic pressures with sustainability goals Despite the economic challenges posed by fresh tariffs, Edmund believes organisations can still maintain their sustainability commitments through strategic use of technology.
“ While tariffs may drive up costs, procurement leaders can still prioritise sustainability by leveraging advanced procurement technology to assess suppliers’ environmental impact and ESG compliance,” he says.
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