Manufacturers are moving beyond traditional supply chain planning and embracing AI-powered supply chain orchestration to understand the downstream impacts of business decisions as tariffs, geopolitical tensions and shifting trade policies continue to reshape global manufacturing, according to executives at supply chain software provider Kinaxis.
The Strategic Implication
A change in supplier location caused by tariff disruptions can affect inventory levels, factory schedules, logistics costs, customer commitments and profitability across the network, said Fabrizio Brasca, senior vice president of market strategy at Ottawa-based Kinaxis, in an interview with FreightWaves. Rather than relying on multiple departments to evaluate sourcing changes over days or weeks, Kinaxis’ Maestro platform allows manufacturers to compare multiple scenarios simultaneously, including alternative suppliers, transportation options, production plans and inventory strategies.
Tariff Uncertainty Drives Adoption
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced a new 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods, responding to Canada’s retaliatory trade policies. The administration is levying a 25% tariff on Brazilian imports and pursuing global investigations that could impose 10% to 12.5% tariffs on 60 economies, including China and the European Union.
| Trade Action | Tariff Rate | Target Economies |
|---|---|---|
| New tariff on Canadian goods | 50% | Canada (certain goods) |
| Tariff on Brazilian imports | 25% | Brazil |
| Global tariff investigations | 10%–12.5% | 60 economies (including China, EU) |
Nearshoring Adds Complexity
Brasca said manufacturers pursuing nearshoring and "China-plus-one" sourcing strategies are facing increasingly complex planning decisions that extend well beyond labor costs. Companies now must weigh tariffs, transportation expenses, supplier risk, lead times, inventory requirements and geopolitical considerations while balancing service levels and overall supply chain resilience.
Using Maestro, customers can model sourcing alternatives across the U.S., Mexico and Canada before making operational changes, allowing them to evaluate the tradeoffs between cost, service and resilience, according to Brasca. "What we’re seeing is a shift from supply chains optimized solely for efficiency to supply chains designed for resilience," he said.
Measurable Benefits
Brasca said manufacturers adopting Maestro typically see measurable improvements within the first year, including:
- Lower inventory levels
- Improved customer service
- Faster responses to disruptions
- Reduced expedited freight, last-minute operational changes and other logistics inefficiencies
"Organizations also see faster response times to disruptions," Brasca said. "Instead of reacting after the fact, teams can evaluate trade-offs in real time and take action sooner, helping protect both revenue and customer experience."
AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement
While agentic AI has become one of the hottest topics in enterprise software, Brasca said Kinaxis views AI as a tool that broadens access to supply chain intelligence rather than replacing planners. Maestro Agent Studio helps employees beyond traditional supply chain teams to analyze scenarios, evaluate sourcing alternatives, assess tariff impacts and respond to disruptions using the same underlying planning data. "Our view is simple: AI isn’t replacing planners—it’s expanding who can make high-quality supply chain decisions and how quickly those decisions get made," Brasca said.
What This Means for Your Procurement Team
For chief supply chain officers and procurement directors, the takeaway is clear: traditional planning cycles of days or weeks are no longer sufficient in an environment of rapid tariff changes. Kinaxis' Maestro platform offers a way to model trade-offs across cost, service and resilience in real time, enabling faster and more confident decision-making. Companies that don't adopt such AI-driven orchestration risk being caught off-guard by the next trade disruption, facing higher costs and missed customer commitments.
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