The session will outline the goals of the new tariffs and their potential impacts, such as addressing trade imbalances, ensuring fair competition, protecting US industries, and boosting government revenue. However, these tariffs may provoke retaliatory measures, disrupt supply chains, and increase costs for businesses reliant on imports.
Businesses must proactively plan and adapt to the rapidly changing tariff landscape to minimize costs and prevent value loss. It provides a tariff mitigation framework, including product optimization, supply chain resilience, strategic capital investment, passthrough pricing, cost control management, and strategic sourcing.
Key Points:
 Tariff Environment: An overview of the current US tariff landscape and its complexities.
Strategic Responses: A continuous loop of risk assessments and mitigation actions to navigate uncertainty.
Risk Assessment: A comprehensive suite of tools to evaluate overall risk and impact across various sectors.
Mitigation Actions: A range of short-term and long-term strategies designed to minimize exposure to tariff risks.
The Roland Berger presenters have extensive experience in product optimization, strategic capital investment, cost control management, supply chain resilience, pricing passthrough, and strategic sourcing.
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Presenter
Zachary Kaplan
Partner | Roland Berger
Zach Kaplan is a Partner at Roland Berger, bringing over a decade of experience in international policy and development. He also serves as an Executive in Residence at Cornell University and is an Adjunct Lecturer at Georgetown University, underscoring his commitment to shaping global policy strategies that address complex international challenges. His work at Georgetown University as an Adjunct Lecturer further cements his role as a thought leader in public policy.
He is dedicated to leveraging his deep understanding of international relations to contribute to Roland Berger's mission while fostering an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving.
Shantanu Verma
Partner | Roland Berger
Shantanu Verma is a seasoned expert in strategic sourcing, supply chain optimization, and operational cost reduction. Fluent in English and Hindi, he has driven impactful transformations across industries, including consumer goods, retail, manufacturing, and technology.
He led a cost transformation for a Fortune 500 home goods retailer, achieving $100 million in savings through strategic sourcing and supply chain optimization. His expertise in packaging optimization helped an auto parts distributor save over $20 million, while his supplier negotiation strategies for a global toy retailer resulted in a $30 million margin improvement. For a cloud services provider, he enhanced supplier fill rates and reduced lead times, achieving improvements of 12% and 20%, respectively. Additionally, he developed a fulfillment strategy for a $500 million online grocery business, reducing variable costs by 27%, and optimized factory operations for a heavy equipment manufacturer, improving working capital by 20%.
Shantanu’s deep expertise in supplier management, inventory control, and operational efficiency has consistently delivered measurable financial benefits. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan (Ross) and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto. With previous leadership roles at global e-commerce, technology, consulting, and advisory firms, he brings a wealth of experience to strategic problem-solving and operational excellence.
Peng BI
Principal | Roland Berger
Peng Bi is a Principal at Roland Berger's Chicago office, specializing in strategic sourcing, supply management, global sourcing, and supply chain optimization. With over a decade of experience, Peng has successfully led transformative projects across the consumer electronics, retail, technology, telecommunications, utilities, and energy sectors.
Peng has managed logistics services with annual spending exceeding $600 million, developed multi-year procurement strategies, and optimized sourcing processes to achieve significant cost reductions. Among his notable accomplishments are a 15% average cost reduction for a leading U.S. consumer electronics company and the establishment of a world-class procurement organization for a major watch manufacturer.
An experienced workshop facilitator, Peng delivers training on strategic sourcing, negotiation, and global sourcing. His academic credentials include a Master of Engineering in Supply Chain Management from MIT, an MBA from Ohio State University, and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Sun Yat-sen University.
