Reading the tea leaves of the current administration is a challenge, but I will say that the organizations that we’re working with, most of them have been thinking about [preparing for tariffs] since the middle of last year, if not earlier…
The looming threat of new tariffs in the U.S. has created ripples of uncertainty, straining relationships with key trading partners in Mexico, Canada, and China. While Mexican tariffs have been temporarily paused following discussions between President Trump and Canada’s Trudeau and Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, supply chain leaders worldwide are anxiously waiting to see what unfolds next.
To understand how companies are making an effort to prepare, we spoke with Ryan Purcell, VP of Supply Chain AI at Optilogic. According to Purcell, AI may be the only tool capable of providing the insights needed for future planning amid growing uncertainty.
Uncertain Tariffs: “Reading the tea leaves of the current administration is a challenge,” Purcell notes. “But I will say that the organizations that we’re working with, most of them have been thinking about this since the middle of last year, if not earlier, as it became part of the conversation on the campaign trail.”
He adds that the topic has quickly moved from political debates to boardrooms and supply chain departments across industries. “It also became part of the conversation in boardrooms and supply chain departments of ‘how well positioned are we, what do we expect the impacts to be?’ This optic exists to bring technology to bear for answering questions like that.”
Optilogic’s Leapfrog AI is designed to provide critical foresight into supply chain planning, even when faced with tariff changes and unpredictable geopolitical dynamics.
Typically when we have these supply chain disruptions or the uncertainty in markets that we know is going to have downstream impacts on supply chain, that is an opportunity for us to shine and bring some power and tools to bear for our customers.
A Case Study for AI in Supply Chain: Purcell highlights that times of disruption often showcase the true value of AI. “Typically when we have these supply chain disruptions or the uncertainty in markets that we know is going to have downstream impacts on supply chain, that is an opportunity for us to shine and bring some power and tools to bear for our customers.”
He describes the current unknowns around tariffs and their repercussions as a prime example of why solutions like Optilogic are essential. “A situation like this is the case study in why you need solutions like Optilogic has, and people who understand and have been there before. You know, we’ve helped a lot of companies go through this process of the playbooks and the areas for analysis and how to set up your models to do some kind of quick planning and then more detailed, deep dives on the impacts of specific policies as they get rolled out.”
Preparing for All Scenarios: Through Optilogic’s platform, companies can model various scenarios to prepare for potential shifts in trade policy. “A lot of our customers have already set up plans and now they’re just doing their refreshes every so often based on the latest rumors or the latest real data and policies coming down,” Purcell explains.
Thanks to AI, supply chain companies can use a proactive approach that allows them to adjust strategies as new information emerges, rather than reacting after disruptions have already taken a toll.
The Future of AI in Supply Chain: Looking ahead, Purcell sees AI playing an even more integral role in supply chain management. “We’re on this journey towards something that you could realistically give responsibilities to help run your supply chain. If you’re a supply chain planner, I’m not sure how much of the work you do today will be similar to what it will be a year from now, but there’s certainly pieces of it that will be offloaded to AI.”
As supply chains grow more complex and global dynamics continue to remain uncertain, AI isn’t just an advantage—it’s becoming a necessity.
