Tariffs are stress-testing revenue structure

Simon Edwards at Conga describes the uncertainty caused by tariffs and explains how organisations can mitigate this

 

Tariff disruption is straining the processes that govern how businesses price, contract and forecast revenue. Businesses are being disrupted with unplanned cost increases, forcing teams to make rapid decisions impacting pricing and margins that can affect supplier terms and customer delivery alike.

 

For many UK organisations, the financial impact is becoming increasingly clear. EY reported that in Q2 2025, 63% of UK-listed companies issuing profit warnings cited tariffs as a contributing factor.

 

Responsiveness depends on coordination as well as speed. When planning, pricing and contract actions are linked, businesses can act faster and with greater confidence, even as market conditions transform.

 

 

Planning as a revenue lever

When tariffs shift, finance teams need to assess exposure before it shows up in results. Scenario planning enables this by modelling changes across supplier terms, cost inputs and customer obligations.

 

That urgency is increasing. According to Conga’s 2025 Revenue Imperative Report, 43% of global organisations say they could miss sales due to mismanaged revenue processes. This reflects how reactive planning limits agility and why forecasting must shape response.

 

Scenario planning allows teams to trace how tariff-driven costs affect margins across products, geographies or contract types. Adjustments to pricing or supply chain can be made sooner and based on current inputs, rather than assumptions from a previous cycle.

 

When applied, forecasting becomes a frontline tool. Models based on live contract terms and real-time inputs give finance a clearer view of evolving margin risk.

 

When shared across functions, these models bring planning closer to execution. Legal and commercial teams can be brought in earlier, improving alignment and response times.

 

That same visibility enables more constructive engagement with both suppliers and customers. When decisions are backed by clear data, conversations become easier to manage and more constructive.

 

For example, if tariffs increase the cost of a key supplier input, contract data can reveal which customer agreements allow for price adjustments. Finance can model the margin impact, while sales and legal teams coordinate updates, ensuring changes are communicated clearly, applied consistently, and reflected in billing without delay.

 

 

Contracts with strategic clarity

Once tariff exposure is identified, contract review becomes the next focus. However, this process can often be delayed by fragmented systems and limited clause-level visibility.

 

Contract intelligence changes that. By digitising agreements and making them searchable by term, region or clause type, legal teams can focus quickly on where change is needed. Reviews become faster, more targeted, and easier to coordinate across teams.

 

Although our report found that 87% of organisations recognise the value of AI in business processes, just 25% have adopted it. This slows the ability to surface relevant contract data and limits coordination during time-sensitive reviews.

 

More recently, AI has helped teams ask and answer broader questions across their contract portfolios, not just where risk exists, but where commitments could cause pricing or delivery friction down the line.

 

This clarity is especially important when assessing whether existing terms provide flexibility. Some contracts include tariff-related or force-majeure clauses that may allow obligations to be adjusted, provided the language is explicit. Others will require formal renegotiation to reflect new cost pressures.

 

Structured visibility improves internal coordination. Legal can brief commercial leads with clarity. Amendments are easier to prepare and track. Decisions are logged centrally, reducing ambiguity and ensuring changes are consistently applied across the portfolio.

 

That structure shortens the gap between identifying risk and resolution. Externally, it helps avoid disputes, keeping fulfilment running smoothly.

 

 

Pricing built for change

Once terms are updated, pricing must reflect those changes. Many businesses still rely on disconnected workflows. Manual pricing updates are circulated via spreadsheets or email, leading to version control issues and slow implementation.

 

Our data also showed that 61% of professionals said they spend six or more hours per week on repetitive, manual revenue tasks. This signals that traditional pricing infrastructures are not designed to keep pace with tariff disruption.

 

Dynamic pricing frameworks, however, support scale. By linking pricing rules to contract logic, supplier inputs or tariff thresholds, changes can be made once and applied across quoting, contracting and billing. This consistency reduces delays and risk.

 

It also strengthens customer communication. When pricing updates are traceable and explainable, conversations become easier to manage. Internal teams operate from a single source of truth, and changes are implemented with confidence.

 

When pricing rules are built into systems directly, commercial intent carries through into delivery without delay or duplication. As supply chains shift, these controls help ensure cost changes are reflected downstream to prevent margin leakage.

 

 

Repeatability defines readiness

Repeatability turns coordination into a capability, not just a reaction. At the end of the day, disruption is not easing. Tariffs are being introduced, adjusted or withdrawn in faster cycles, leaving little room for delay.

 

This pressure is prompting organisations to eliminate siloes, move faster and make better use of data. When forecasting, contract review and pricing operate as a single flow, businesses gain both control and clarity.

 

It also helps protect the customer experience. When systems align, delivery risks are anticipated, and pricing and contract updates are easier to navigate.

 

What matters is how repeatable that readiness becomes. Organisations that establish control during disruption are often the first to accelerate when conditions stabilise.

 

Scenario planning, contract intelligence and dynamic pricing no longer sit in silos. Together, they form the foundation of an effective response to tariff disruption.

 

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Simon Edwards is CFO at Conga 

 

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