One of my least favorite sayings is “this time it’s different.” Well, unless your working career started back in the 1930’s, this time is different. Fortunately, that was the last time tariffs had this type of real-world business impact. Back then, most industries were not as global and interconnected.

The tariffs are having far-reaching effects. Prices have been under pressure for sure. Depending on the day and the place of origin for goods and inputs, prices have increased. In most cases, quite a bit.

Wholesale distribution is not immune to any of these forces. With upward price pressure, credit managers and their teams have a mindful eye on customers and their credit limits. B2B relationships are more like art than science. Knowing which clients deserve higher credit limits is key. Having the necessary tools that automatically update your systems with invoice details and resulting in successful payment collection are proving to be worth the time and investment to obtain them.

Purchasing managers have a different set of challenges. Components and supplies need to be on hand but being mindful of their limits with their dealers must be a focus as well. All of this plays out at the CFO and executive management level.

Businesses with integrated order-to-cash solutions that automatically update sales and collection information have a clear advantage in today’s environment. That is not to say that any of this is easy, but line of sight into up-to-date customer exposure aided by ease of payment collection and cash application is a major benefit. Some solutions that we are aware of pay for themselves…you just have to know where to look.

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