How Can Procurement Teams Tackle Tariff Challenges? Find Out in This Webinar

Procurement industry experts came together recently to take part in Arkestro’s latest webinar, “Predictive Procurement as a Scaling Strategy: Case Studies from Successful Enterprise Transformations,” to explore how predictive procurement is driving large-scale change across enterprises.

The lively and informative discussion covered topics ranging from tackling economic uncertainty, steps procurement can take to mitigate risks in the face of tariffs, and how AI-powered solutions like Arkestro’s “three sciences” approach to predictive procurement are delivering measurable outcomes. Participants also offered real-world examples and forward-looking insights into the future of procurement in 2025 and beyond.

Speakers included Jim Cuff, Director of Indirect Sourcing for Crown Holding, Inc., Kate Denissova, Senior Director, Procurement & P2P Advisory, for The Hackett Group, Arkestro Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Edmund Zagorin, and Arkestro Chief Technology Officer Ben Leiken.

Procurement in the Age of Tariffs: Insights From Kate Denissova, Hackett Group

Kate Denissova of the Hackett Group opened the webinar with a clear message: procurement leaders must adapt to a volatile global landscape shaped by tariffs and economic uncertainty. She outlined emerging trends, emphasizing how digital transformation and AI are critical to building more resilient and strategic procurement functions.

“In the next five years, AI is really going to change how we’re operating,” Kate said, pointing to the growing demand for deeper data insights. “There’s a huge trend and need for data insight and visibility that is being driven by the current environment and the world of volatility, uncertainty, and complexities.”

A top priority for chief procurement officers, she explained, is maintaining supply continuity while adapting to tariff shifts, requiring a move away from legacy tools. “Procurement needs a modern, digital landscape,” she stressed. “We need modern tools that are beyond traditional e-procurement applications. We really need to drive modernization.”

To mitigate risk, Kate recommended tools like cost modeling and reshoring scenario planning, especially for companies looking to decrease dependence on China and other offshore sources. These strategies, she said, can help procurement stay agile in the face of disruption.

Still, she acknowledged a major roadblock: resource constraints. “The biggest issue we’ve seen in procurement year over year is bandwidth,” Kate said. Despite these challenges, Kate noted that many companies have been “able to accomplish some tremendous results” by partnering with predictive procurement pioneers like Arkestro.

75% Reduced Cycle Times with 25% Reduced Costs: Crown Holdings’ Breakthrough Year With AI and Arkestro

Crown Holding, Inc. (formerly Crown Cork & Seal), a legacy American packaging company founded in 1892, turned to Jim Cuff to help modernize its sourcing and procurement processes. Known for building strong teams, Jim faced the challenge of integrating 21st-century technology into a long-established business model.

“How do we inject technology into the process and bring it into this century?” he asked. For Jim, the key to modern sourcing is data. “If you’re not doing your data and not looking at it, you’re behind the eight ball.”

One hurdle was justifying investing in AI over existing platforms to top execs and shareholders. But after partnering with Arkestro — a leader in AI-driven procurement — results quickly silenced doubts. In just over a year, Crown has cut cycle times by 75%, reduced costs by an average of 25%, and boosted productivity by five%.

“I was skeptical at first,” Jim admitted. “But I’ve built trust with the system and the Arkestro team. We’ve received great feedback from suppliers — it’s been easy and successful.”

For Jim, pricing is a key performance indicator. “Savings…it comes down to price. I trust the tool to negotiate on its own now, and we’re seeing double-digit savings.”

Looking ahead, Jim is excited to deepen the company’s partnership with Arkestro. “One of the things I’m excited about is the development of AI. What we’re aiming for now is more intelligence — what’s next with the tech. Arkestro implements quickly, and that’s what I love. So I think it’s been an exciting journey.”

From Spreadsheets to Strategy: Arkestro’s AI Redefines Tariff-Era Procurement

Arkestro Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Edmund Zagorin then discussed how Arkestro’s AI turns tariff challenges into strategic opportunities by automating sourcing simulations, driving fact-based negotiations, and generating optimal offers. “Procurement time is so valuable, we can’t waste it on tasks like moving PDFs and spreadsheets,” said Zagorin. Instead, teams focus on high-impact negotiations and fact-based decision-making.

He also discussed Arkestro’s Three Sciences of Predictive Procurement and how this approach to procurement is helping enterprises move first, negotiate faster, and achieve greater savings.

Edmund then discussed how Arkestro’s powerful predictive procurement platform helps teams navigate tariff volatility by identifying incumbent alternatives, which are vetted suppliers already onboarded but unused for specific items. This concept, as Edmund stressed, is critical in tariff adaptation, enabling rapid, AI-driven pivots without onboarding delays — what he called “an AI-driven way to instantly generate a plan B, C, or D.”

Edmund noted that tariffs often distort traditional pricing, but Arkestro’s AI embeds cost modeling into the quoting process, using real-time offer data, volume-based pricing, and external benchmarks to create behaviorally optimal negotiation scenarios. “You can think of the way that Arkestro’s AI approaches pricing as a new way of cost modeling” — faster, more precise and proactive, and better suited for volatile, tariff-driven market shifts.

In addition to pricing and supplier flexibility, Arkestro helps teams adapt to tariffs by renegotiating terms and optimizing freight strategies. Its AI identifies where to act and simplifies execution. As Edmund put it, “These are all process and people changes…but with AI, it is less work.” The result: faster, smarter tariff adaptation with less effort.

Edmund also introduced Arkestro’s Opportunity Intelligence, which “can help unblock requisitions, achieve quick cost savings, and manage price volatility.” By scanning item-level data and supplier capabilities, it recommends sourcing actions in real time, turning procurement into “a proactive driver of resilience and value creation” rather than a reactive function.

From Insight to Execution: Ben Leiken Demos Arkestro’s End-to-End AI Procurement Power

Ben Leiken, CTO of Arkestro, led a fast-paced demo of the Arkestro platform, describing it as a walk-through designed to showcase key procurement features in a short amount of time. He emphasized that the tool embodies themes and functionalities shared earlier by other presenters and acts as a powerful force multiplier for procurement teams.

The demo began with a look at Arkestro’s intelligence capabilities, which analyze historical purchasing data and live platform activity to generate item-level recommendations. This feature helps users proactively address complex procurement challenges like tariffs by identifying savings opportunities and suggesting optimal timing for purchases.

Focusing on real-world examples, Ben demonstrated how Arkestro uses past data to recommend pricing and alternative suppliers who may not be affected by tariffs. It even suggests bundling items to maximize savings and enables users to act immediately on these insights with one click.

He then shifted to the execution side of the platform, showing how Arkestro creates draft events with pre-populated data, suggested pricing, and supplier lists. Through machine learning, the Arkestro platform generates first-offer prices at scale and even accommodates items that have never been purchased before using an intelligent counter-offer feature.

To close, the platform’s supplier-side experience was highlighted, including tools for submitting quotes easily and receiving feedback on competitiveness. Upcoming updates will enhance tariff and cost evaluation capabilities. The session ended with a Q&A that addressed contract scenarios, historical pricing benchmarks, and the untapped value of quote data for smarter procurement decisions.

You can watch the full webinar video here. Be sure to click on the “Download presentation” button at the bottom of the page to see a PDF that goes deeper into all of the topics discussed in this webinar. Click here to check out past Arkestro webinars.

Tariffs challenging how you do business? Contact us today to learn how Arkestro can help.