Coupa TIP: Scenario Planning for Tariff-Ready Supply Chains

Global trade in 2025 feels like a chess match where the rules change mid-game.

For many leaders, the real challenge is not just understanding tariffs themselves but pinpointing how those tariffs ripple through costs, sourcing and delivery networks.

With more than half of chief executives ranking trade wars as their top geopolitical risk this year, the pressure to adapt has never been greater.

Coupa’s Tariff Impact Planning (TIP) app, part of its Supply Chain Solutions suite, is designed for exactly this kind of climate. It aims to help organisations dissect the complexity of global trade rules and craft strategies that keep profitability intact despite unpredictable shifts.

Creating tariff-optimised supply chains

The TIP app works within Coupa’s wider supply chain toolkit, which supports businesses in examining their existing networks and simulating how future tariff changes could play out.

The idea is not just to react to a new trade rule but to plan for it—testing alternative sourcing and manufacturing strategies that balance tariff savings with operational reliability.

In practice, this structured approach spans sourcing, manufacturing, logistics and network design.

With built-in modelling capabilities, leaders can run rapid what-if scenarios when trade policies change or markets get disrupted. The benefit is speed and precision—two qualities that can keep a business ahead when trade barriers appear without warning.

Nick Banich, Chief Revenue Officer at supply chain consultancy Miebach, frames the backdrop clearly: "Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world briefly experienced a unique moment without competing global powers.

"But today, with the US and China wielding economic tools as diplomatic levers – and Europe emerging as a potential third pole – it appears the era of free trade has shifted to a contest over evolving definitions of ‘fair trade’."

For Nick, the key takeaway is that current tariffs are not temporary.

"Hoping for a sudden change to this trend is risky," he says. Instead, technology and automation like Coupa’s TIP app can give supply chain leaders the visibility and scenario modelling needed to make informed, margin-protecting decisions.

Core capabilities for tariff management

Coupa’s TIP app tackles tariff exposure through four main functions:

Tariff optimisation enables teams to evaluate current networks and weigh alternatives. This involves comparing the trade-offs between cost, service quality and risk when selecting sourcing and production locations. The aim is to keep tariff costs low without sacrificing delivery performance.

Duty drawback analysis maps the journey of goods through the supply chain to spot opportunities for reclaiming duties. This is relevant where imported materials are later exported as part of finished products, allowing businesses to claim refunds and reduce overall tariff spend.

Layered tariff evaluation examines the cumulative impact of tariffs applied to raw materials, semi-finished goods and final products. This prevents compounded tariffs that inflate costs unnecessarily at multiple stages of production.

Pricing and market access assessment lets decision-makers model how shifts in trade policy or market conditions might affect pricing. It supports strategies that maintain competitiveness while managing the customer impact of cost changes.

Building resilience through modelling

The TIP app’s integration with Coupa’s broader supply chain modelling is where its real strategic value lies.

By simulating the full journey from raw material to customer delivery, leaders can see exactly where tariffs bite hardest and test different responses—whether that’s adjusting sourcing locations, altering transport routes or delaying market entry.

Dean Bain, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Supply Chain at Coupa, warns of the stakes involved: "A lasting trade war could be a black swan event with seismic impacts to supply chains, the likes of which we haven't seen since the COVID-19 pandemic."

He also notes that supply chains remain fragile and any disruption has downstream effects across an entire business network. Coupa’s tools, he says, are about creating adaptive strategies that match each company’s unique operating model while keeping margins intact and competitiveness high.

By giving supply chain leaders visibility into layered tariffs, duty recovery opportunities and real-time cost impact scenarios, Coupa aims to make readiness part of the daily workflow rather than an occasional scramble.

In a trade environment where policy changes can be both frequent and long-term, the ability to simulate, plan and adjust quickly could be the difference between absorbing new tariffs and being blindsided by them.