Tariffs, Trouble and The Procurement Wake Up Call

Procurement’s Second Wake-Up Call: Are We Ready This Time?

In the latest episode of Proc and Roll, Conrad, Natasha, and Zach dive into a challenge that’s shaking up procurement teams across industries: the sudden surge in trade tariffs and the ripple effects they’re unleashing on global supply chains.

For many, it feels like déjà vu. The world may have moved on from COVID, but procurement’s vulnerabilities haven’t. The trio takes a hard look at what’s changed, what hasn’t, and why resilience can’t just be a buzzword anymore.

From fragile supplier networks to a lack of visibility beyond tier-1, this episode unpacks what went wrong, what needs to change, and what procurement leaders can do today to get ahead of tomorrow’s disruption.

🔎 In this episode, we cover:

• The cost of short-term thinking
• Getting serious about supply chain visibility
• Proactive diversification vs. reactive scrambling
• Why collaboration wins in a crisis
• The mindset shift procurement needs now

If the last few years taught us anything, it’s that disruption is no longer rare. It’s the norm. This episode isn’t about panic—it’s about preparation. It’s about showing up with a plan before the next wake-up call hits.

Watch now or read the transcript below.

Transcript: Proc-N-Roll 16 | Tariffs, Trouble and The Procurement Wake Up Call

Conrad Smith: What is going on with the world? You look at the news and it’s like we’re back in the COVID era—except this time, it’s tariffs. Sudden, sweeping trade policy shifts, and procurement and supply chain teams are the ones taking the hit.

Zach Bachir: It’s panic mode. I’ve seen companies scrambling to put together tariff response teams overnight. Everyone’s trying to figure out what’s happening, what’s real, and what to do next. And procurement people are busy—but for all the wrong reasons.

Natasha Gurevich: It reminds me of when I was in business school during the 2001 market crash. It was chaos—Enron collapsed, Arthur Andersen imploded. Everything was unstable. But my macroeconomics professor said, “Finally, something to teach.” That always stuck with me. These volatile moments? They’re real opportunities for procurement. We’re built for this. We deal with uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity. This is our moment to rise and lead.

Conrad Smith: And this isn’t just about today’s news. I pulled up a headline mid-show—automakers are stalling pickups at U.S. ports, hoping for relief. Tariffs are shaking up the entire model. And the most frustrating thing? These aren’t static changes. They’re moving targets. Lists of affected products keep shifting. You can’t plan with confidence because nothing stays fixed.

Zach Bachir: Exactly. One day a component is exempt, the next day it isn’t. That kind of volatility makes it almost impossible to run a smooth procurement operation. And it’s not just direct suppliers—everyone’s impacted. Whether it’s a core supplier, an indirect supplier, or a freight partner, someone in your chain is getting squeezed. That impact ripples.

Conrad Smith: Let’s be honest: waiting it out isn’t a strategy. Assuming this is a temporary trade tactic? Dangerous. This is real. And procurement needs to act—not just react.

Natasha Gurevich: We learned this lesson with COVID. That crisis exposed all the single points of failure. Companies that sourced 70% of a critical material from one country were suddenly paralyzed. Resilience isn’t something you can build overnight. You have to think in 5- to 10-year horizons.

Conrad Smith: Natasha, what’s your take on how far along we should be at this point?

Natasha Gurevich: If you’re freaking out today, someone fell asleep at the wheel five years ago. You should already have diversified, or at least started. You can’t just build a new source of supply in Latin America overnight. It takes years. This idea that everything’s fine until it’s not? It doesn’t work anymore. We need to act like something will go wrong—because it always does. Every five years like clockwork, something breaks.

Zach Bachir: COVID was supposed to be the wake-up call. And a lot of procurement teams had the right conversations. Resilience became the word of the day. But did enough actually change? I’m not sure. A lot of people just went back to business as usual. Now we’re getting that second ring of the alarm clock. Don’t hit snooze again.

Conrad Smith: Exactly. That’s the image: the alarm clock keeps ringing. And if you’re still pretending you’re in the clear, you’re going to get caught flat-footed. Hopefully some teams are five years into retooling their supply base, but if not, start now.

Zach Bachir: And practically speaking, that means supply chain visibility. You’ve got to know your bill of materials—what’s in your product, where it’s coming from, who’s supplying it. Even if one supplier gives you the finished product, you better know where they are sourcing from.

Conrad Smith: This isn’t just a data problem—it’s a trust problem. Suppliers don’t always want to share who their suppliers are. You need strong relationships, NDAs, and a plan to protect that information. But without visibility, you’re flying blind.

Zach Bachir: Use incentives. Offer preferred vendor status, long-term contracts, shared forecasting data—something that makes them want to work with you. Make it worth their time. You’re not the only customer knocking on their door.

Natasha Gurevich: And you can’t just think about cost savings and efficiency anymore. You have to ask: how does my company make money? What parts of our operation are critical to delivering that value? If your contact center in the Philippines goes offline because of trade restrictions, do you have a backup? What about your R&D hub in Poland? Procurement has to start thinking end-to-end.

Conrad Smith: That’s the shift—from being a functional leader to an enterprise leader. If you don’t understand the broader business model, you’re going to miss the risks that matter most.

Zach Bachir: And let’s not forget: this isn’t just about switching suppliers. Diversifying takes time, energy, and long-term commitment. Some suppliers won’t even reply to your first email right now—they’re overwhelmed. But you have to try. You can’t sit still.

Natasha Gurevich: Earlier in my career, I was all about supplier consolidation—fewer vendors, bigger volume, better deals. But now? I believe in purposefully splitting business. Give one supplier senior status, another a junior role. It creates competition and protects you if one fails.

Conrad Smith: And your current suppliers? They’re under pressure too. Work with them. Have open, honest conversations. Ask what’s possible. Look at alternative trade routes, bonded warehouses, free trade zones. Collaborate, don’t just dictate.

Zach Bachir: And when it comes to negotiation, you need leverage. That means being able to move fast—onboarding a new supplier, qualifying a new factory, approving a new material. If you can’t do that, you don’t really have a plan B.

Natasha Gurevich: Here’s the truth: most procurement professionals don’t understand their suppliers’ cost structures. That’s the real opportunity. If you know what’s hurting them—tariffs, labor, freight—you can help reduce their costs and share in the benefit.

Conrad Smith: You don’t have to solve this alone. But you do have to lead. That’s the job. This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about partnering with suppliers, working across teams, and figuring out what’s next—together.

Natasha Gurevich: Suffering alone is no longer in fashion. If you’re stuck, reach out. This is the time to lean on your network, share ideas, and help each other move forward.

Zach Bachir: If anyone ever doubted the value of procurement, this is the moment that proves it. What we do is essential to business survival. Let’s show it.

Conrad Smith: So if you’ve been sitting on a five-year plan—dust it off. And if you haven’t started, now’s the time. Because the world will change again. And when it does, you’ll want to be ready.

This transcript has been edited for clarity while maintaining all substantive content