Today’s supply chains face a fundamentally different trade environment than they were initially designed for. Traditional supply-chain risk tools, which focus on supplier-level risks, no longer provide the product-level traceability businesses need to manage compliance, tariffs and sourcing decisions. Enter AI-driven solutions.
In this Q&A for Hertzman Global Intelligence, Chris Benham, head of client value at AI-powered global supply chain management system Altana, discusses how AI is transforming supply-chain visibility, why trade compliance and supply-chain operations must work together, and how retailers are adapting sourcing strategies amid tariff volatility.
HGI: What is the biggest misconception companies still have about their supply chains? What are the blind spots Altana helps them uncover?
Chris Benham: Our grounding thesis is that global trade simply wasn’t built for the world it runs in now. Rules change overnight, enforcement is sharper and modern trade policy reaches all the way up the value chain. Country of origin, free trade agreement qualification, Section 232 content and forced-labor screening all depend on what’s actually inside each product.
Historically, supply chain and trade compliance operated separately, but today it is imperative that both functions work together to reduce tariff exposure, forced-labor violations and shipment detentions while increasing supplier diversity and product traceability.
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that supply chain risk management (SCRM) tools alone create resilience. They were an important first step, but a dashboard of blinking red lights is no longer enough. Traditional SCRM tools do surface risks at the supplier level, but they also produce high volumes of low-context alerts disconnected from products, revenue and compliance obligations.
Supply chain operations and the trade desk share the same underlying data—suppliers and facilities. A company can prioritize operational resilience yet still be exposed if its trade team isn’t working from the same network and product data, because that’s where origin determination, tariff exposure, denied-party ownership and transshipment risks emerge. Legacy SCRM tools solve only half the equation.
Product-level traceability lets businesses pinpoint the specific sub-tier suppliers and facilities that matter most instead of chasing irrelevant alerts. One customer received an SCRM disruption alert tracing a software license provider to a tax adviser for a grocery supplier connected to tier-two suppliers. It was distracting noise. With product-level traceability, businesses can focus time and resources on disruptions that actually affect their products.
HGI: How are tariffs changing sourcing decisions in real time? What patterns are you seeing?
CB: Tariff volatility has turned sourcing exposure into a board-level issue. Companies now have to screen well beyond Tier 1 suppliers while keeping up with Section 232, Section 301 and other Chapter 99 measures that change with little warning.
We’re hearing from customers who say they need a full-time tariff specialist because few teams can answer executives asking, “What’s our exposure?” without days of Excel work. One client had 100,000 entries affected by IEEPA and Section 232 tariffs. Product-level visibility allows companies to model where tariffs are stacking up and identify sourcing changes that could lower costs in minutes instead of days.
It’s also critical to identify forced-labor, UFLPA, restricted-party and denied-party exposure hidden deep in the value chain. We’ve identified growing patterns of tariff evasion through transshipment and misclassification that can delay shipments at the border. Over time, companies gain what we call “virtual vertical integration”—the visibility of owning the supply chain without actually owning it—allowing sourcing decisions based on verified data rather than assumptions.
HGI: How has AI changed supply-chain visibility compared with five years ago? What was previously impossible that is possible now?
CB: AI has made speed and scale possible at the same time. Businesses can simulate supply chain disruptions, understand product- and revenue-level impacts, and automate complex origin determination and tariff calculations. We’ve seen businesses accelerate supply chain risk analysis by 85%, freeing teams to focus on decision-making and strategy.
On the trade side, AI has reduced brokers’ classification times from 15 minutes to under five while reducing compliance errors. That allows both enterprises and customs authorities to focus on higher-value work.
HGI: How do some of Altana’s biggest brand clients use Altana?
CB: Altana works with many apparel and retail clients. Notably, L.L.Bean uses Altana’s Product Passports in coordination with Customs and Border Protection’s “Global Entry for Goods” program, allowing it to pre-verify shipment compliance alongside other trade automation workflows. Skims uses Altana to ensure ethical, compliant and sustainable production across its extended supplier networks.
HGI: Any stats on how a client’s supply chain was helped?
CB: One leading American retailer had 47 shipments of the same product detained on suspicion of forced labor before ultimately being released, costing more than $50 million in legal fees, storage and lost sales. The company also added a costly 45-day shipping buffer to absorb delays. Working with Altana and CBP, the retailer submitted a Product Passport with its 48th shipment, which cleared successfully. Every shipment since has also cleared, allowing the retailer to preserve a 20-year supplier relationship, eliminate the 45-day buffer and create tens of millions of dollars in value.
Another example involved a leading healthcare technology provider. As Middle East instability threatened helium supplies for MRI systems, Altana quickly identified $3.2 million of helium inventory at risk, compressing a multi-day, multi-team effort into a single session while highlighting sourcing concentration and revenue exposure.
HGI: What separates resilient supply chains from vulnerable ones in 2026?
CB: A deep understanding of the value chains behind every product. Today’s trade regulations require far more than supplier information—they demand evidence of upstream origins. Companies that treat master data, bill-of-materials data and product data as strategic assets will be best positioned to achieve traceability and operational resilience.
HGI: Looking ahead, what is the biggest challenge and what should retailers, brands and importers watch most closely?
CB: The biggest challenge is continued uncertainty combined with expanding trade policies that require greater traceability. We’re already seeing it through tariffs, export controls and EUDR [European Union Deforestation-free Regulation]—product-origin-focused regulations that require full visibility into product value chains. If companies aren’t prepared, they won’t deliver on time or on budget.
Expect tariff complexity to increase, not decrease. The end of IEEPA tariffs will likely be followed by additional Section 122, 232, 301 and 338 tariffs. This volatility will persist unless Congress establishes lasting legal authority for blanket tariffs and negotiated bilateral trade agreements.
