TAKEAWAYS Shaping the Future of the Global Supply Chain NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY Experts weigh in on how shippers can build flexibility into sourcing and shipping decisions.
IMPORTING TIP: Consider Pivoting to the West Coast
on any single supplier or geography, onboarding new partners ef ciently, and maintaining a current view of inventory and ful llment performance. –OMAR QARI, CEO, Logicbroker CANADA TARIFFS TIP: Transition from Lowest-Cost to Resilient Sourcing supplier networks, qualifying secondary suppliers before they are needed, reducing dependence on a single country or trade corridor, and keeping more sourcing options available for strategically important products. They are also looking farther upstream, because changing a Tier 1 factory does not necessarily eliminate tariff exposure if the critical fabric, component, or raw material still originates in the affected country. To prepare for trade shifts, some brands are shifting from lowest-cost sourcing to resilient sourcing. Brands are building multi-country Ultimately, sourcing can no longer be optimized only for cost. Brands need enough data to understand tariff exposure at the product, material, supplier, and country level, and they need enough supplier optionality to shift production quickly when trade rules change. –MARK BURSTEIN, SVP of Americas, Inspectorio Flatbed capacity is being pulled toward data center construction and government infrastructure projects, so a shipper whose volumes are down can still pay multiples of last year’s rates because the equipment is chasing higher-value project freight. Adding days to the tender does little to change that math, which is why carriers are still turning down contracted freight even with more notice in hand than they had one year ago. –BRIAN CUPP, Vice President of Operations, Enablement, and Strategic Initiatives, IntelliTrans
If a shipper has the exibility to import goods into the U.S. West Coast instead of the U.S. East Coast, then they must seriously consider it because there is dramatic savings potential, even if it means a heavier reliance on truck and rail to reach the nal destination.
This underlines the dynamic approach supply chain professionals must take in managing resilience and freight spend during major market shocks. –PETER SAND, Chief Analyst, Xeneta
RETAIL TIP: Invest in Retail Supply Chain Flexibility
Tariff uncertainty has become one of the most dif cult variables in retail supply chain planning. When companies don’t know how long tariffs will remain in place or what policy change may come next, every sourcing decision carries more weight.
Rather than reacting to every announcement, retailers should focus on building supplier networks and operating systems that can adapt as conditions change. That means diversifying sourcing where practical, reducing dependence
LEAD TIME UPTICK
WHAT’S HAPPENING: Average tender lead times have climbed to 3.74 days, about 11% above the recent three-year average, as of August 2026.
WHY: Tender lead times running well above their three-year average look like better planning from the outside, but on the bulk and break-bulk side, it’s likely shippers buying insurance against a capacity market they do not control. The pressure has very little to do with the shipper’s own demand.
14 Inbound Logistics • September 2026
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