In my previous blog, “When Tariffs Hit, Your Supply Chain Can’t Blink”, I explored how operations leaders can respond to trade disruption with greater speed, visibility, and agility. But the tariff story doesn’t start at the border or end in the warehouse. Its full impact is felt on the income statement, and that puts the CFO at the center of the response.

According to BCG, “the global trade system is becoming a patchwork of bilateral country-specific tariff rates and implementation schemes,” making uncertainty the new norm for global businesses. More importantly, they highlight that CFOs who proactively lead a tariff command center approach can help their companies protect “hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and profits.”

Tariffs are no longer just a policy issue; they are a direct financial risk. They erode margins, distort forecasts, disrupt working capital, and challenge pricing strategies. That’s why more CFOs are stepping in to lead enterprise-wide responses. And it’s why OpenText Business Network is becoming a strategic tool for finance.

1. Enable scenario-driven modeling and forecasting

BCG notes that companies with command centers can model tariff exposure quickly and make informed sourcing and pricing decisions. OpenText Business Network enables finance teams to simulate duties and landed-cost impacts across geographies, SKUs, and suppliers, using real-time invoices, logistics, and trade data.

Instead of waiting weeks for custom BI reports, finance teams can ask:

• “What’s the total tariff cost by product line this quarter?”
• “How will sourcing from Mexico vs. Vietnam affect gross margin?”
• “What are the top 10 suppliers driving duty increases?”

This enables confident financial planning, pricing strategy, and risk mitigation under compressed timelines.

2. Protect margins with real-time cost intelligence

Tariffs can compress gross margins almost overnight. BCG references one large retailer that used its command center to safeguard between $350M and $500M in profits. With OpenText Business Network’s embedded analytics and AI-powered search, CFOs and controllers can get fast answers about where costs are spiking and why.

This real-time view helps support margin-preserving actions like:

• Dynamic pricing adjustments
• SKU-level cost reengineering
• Fast sourcing shifts to mitigate impact

3. Improve cash flow predictability and working capital

Tariffs often create volatility in working capital through unexpected duty payments, shipment delays, or customs rejections. OpenText Business Network improves visibility in all these variables, helping CFOs forecast liquidity needs more accurately.

With support for structured e-Invoicing, customs documentation, and landed-cost transparency, finance leaders can:

• Anticipate cash flow disruptions from new tariffs
• Avoid delays that affect accounts payable/receivable cycles
• Better manage tax and duty deferrals or recoveries

4. Automate compliance to minimize financial risk

Misclassified HS codes, missing certificates, or invoice discrepancies can lead to penalties, shipment holds, and audit exposure. OpenText Business Network automates the generation and exchange of all custom-relevant documentation, ensuring compliant, audit-ready transactions.

This reduces downstream cost risk and supports global tax/regulatory compliance which are two priorities under any CFO’s charter.

5. Coordinate finance, procurement, and operations

Tariff command centers, as BCG puts it, “aren’t just crisis rooms—they’re cross-functional coordination hubs.” With OpenText, CFOs can play a leading role in unifying operational data, trade compliance tools, and financial insights across teams.

With unified dashboards and role-based access, stakeholders from finance, procurement, and logistics can make aligned, informed decisions supported by the same underlying data and automated workflows.

6. Make smarter capital allocation decisions

When tariffs shift sourcing decisions or expand cost structures, the CFO is often asked: where should we invest? OpenText Business Network helps finance leaders understand the full landed cost of each option, including logistics and compliance overhead, so they can support smarter capital investment and inventory strategies.

By tapping into Trading Grid, OpenText’s global partner network, companies can evaluate and onboard alternate suppliers faster, with financial transparency built in.

The bottom line

BCG is right: the companies that outperform during tariff shocks are those that can model the financial impact quickly, simulate alternative strategies, and respond with confidence. In other words, the CFO becomes not just the steward of costs, but the enabler of competitive advantage.

OpenText Business Network gives finance leaders the visibility, automation, and insight needed to:

• Protect margins from unexpected cost increases
• Preserve liquidity and improve forecasting accuracy
• Reduce financial risk from trade non-compliance
• Coordinate faster, smarter responses across teams

Tariff command centers may sound like a supply chain initiative, but they succeed when finance leads.

See how OpenText helps finance teams lead through trade disruption.

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