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Tariff Therapy: Practical Strategies to Reduce Costs and Optimize the Supply Chain
Tariffs have a way of showing up at the worst possible moment. One quarter your margins look solid, the next you’re fielding urgent questions from investors, customers, or the board about rising costs and delayed shipments. The instinct is often to react quickly—switch suppliers, redesign products, or rush production decisions—but that reaction can be far more expensive than the tariff itself. A more effective response is what manufacturing leaders are calling “tariff therapy.” I t’s not about ignoring tariffs or pretending they don’t matter. It’s about slowing down, understanding where costs truly live, and making disciplined supply chain decisions that reduce exposure without creating new risks. These strategies were shared by Addison Merchut , Co-President and Co-Founder of Hatch , whose work sits at the intersection of product design, manufacturing, and vendor strategy. Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Addison outlined practical ways companies can protect margins and build more resilient supply chains—especially in unpredictable trade environments. “Tariffs aren’t something you panic over. They’re something you prepare for—by understanding where cost actually lives.”