Merchants Turn Tariff Pressures Into Supply Chain Resilience

Tariffs have raised costs and complicated logistics, yet they’ve also showcased how resilient merchants can be when incentives shift toward efficiency and control. Goods producers, which includes retailers and tech firms, report higher input costs and delivery delays, but they also point to opportunities to localize sourcing and harden supply chains against further shocks.

As seen in the chart below, PYMNTS Intelligence’s survey of 60 firms finds that 92.6% of goods firms report higher raw-material costs, and 74.1% cite shortages or delays in getting certain products. At the same time, 70.4% view tariffs as an opportunity to support the local economy, and 40.7% say tariffs have enhanced supply chain resilience. That mix of strain and adaptation explains why many merchants are rebalancing from single-source imports toward multisourcing and near-shoring, even when near-term costs are higher.

Taken as a whole, a significant percentage of firms across all segments we surveyed have been making progress in offsetting the impacts. The most common responses to date: reduce operational costs (43.8%), increase prices (40.0%), and diversify international suppliers (38.5%).

A meaningful share are also fine-tuning operations: leverage just-in-time inventory (26.1%), expand high-margin offerings (31.6%), apply for tariff exemptions (25.0%), redesign products using alternative materials (25.0%), replace suppliers with domestic ones (22.2%), and negotiate with existing suppliers for better pricing (14.7%). These are textbook levers for smoothing volatility while preserving service levels.

Working Capital Is an Efficiency Enabler

Over the past month, Visa/PYMNTS Intelligence has documented how working capital tools, including virtual cards, are helping firms turn defensive moves into durable advantages. Recent coverage highlights that middle-market companies are unlocking about $19 million on average through efficiency gains and better deployment of working capital, while accelerating receivables and supplier payments, benefits that directly support tighter reorder cycles and “just-in-time” inventory discipline.

Faster, more predictable settlement with suppliers reduces the need to carry excess buffer stock, shortens cash-conversion cycles and makes it easier to renegotiate terms.

The picture that emerges from the charts is not simply one of cost pressure. It’s the outline of a new operating model: diversified suppliers, leaner inventories, redesigned products where feasible, and digital working-capital rails that keep buyer-supplier relationships fluid even as tariff regimes shift. That’s how a short-term shock becomes a long-term upgrade.

As Abhishek, global head of B2B Acceptance at Visa Commercial Solutions, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster late last month, virtual cards can soothe some of the pain points that exist between buyers and suppliers.

“Late payments are a universal drag on businesses of every size and sector,” with some firms seeing 3% to 5% of their working capital eroded by delayed receivables, Abhishek said.