In a survey conducted by Gartner, a global research and advisory firm, 45% of supply chain leaders anticipate that passing costs along to their customers will be their primary strategy for mitigating new tariff costs.
At the same time, 43% of supply chain executives responding stated they would mitigate tariff costs primarily through supply chain initiatives.
Although increased costs were rated as the top risk associated with new tariffs, cited by 92% of respondents, 75% also had concerns about slowing customer demand as one of the top three risks to their business. Risks included an overall decrease in consumer demand, cited by 49%, as well as worries about retaliatory countermeasures impacting international customer demand, cited by 45%.
“Supply chain leaders have many potential levers to pull from in mitigating new costs related to tariffs,” stated Vicky Forman, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “While supply chain leaders have multiple initiatives underway to potentially lessen the impacts, many of these actions have yet to be completed.”
