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Tariff Guide

Guide to Managing
Tariffs for SMBs

Download this guide to get clear insights into tariffs, how they work, their ripple effects, and — most importantly — practical steps to help businesses navigate and manage these cost fluctuations.

Get the guide

A practical playbook for SMBs facing unpredictable tariff policies

Since the start of 2025, there have been constant changes in tariffs — imposed one day, delayed or replaced the next. This unpredictability makes long-term planning tough for small and midsized businesses, affecting everything from supply chains to profit margins and competitiveness.

This ebook explains what tariffs are, how they impact SMBs, and how to stay agile through uncertainty with help from Katana.

About the guide

Insights into tariffs, their ripple effects, and actionable steps for managing them

This guide helps you understand tariffs, the reasons they are implemented, who pays for them, and what effects they have on the economy. It also explores how SMBs are already managing these cost fluctuations and offers actionable steps you can take right now to protect your bottom line.

What are tariffs, and who really pays for them?

While tariffs are aimed at foreign products, the actual costs usually get passed on to the end consumers. This can make foreign goods a lot more expensive for local shoppers and businesses alike.

To get a more nuanced view of how these taxes are implemented and passed on, download the guide below.

Impact on the global economy and local business

Adding a 20% tariff on foreign steel does not just raise the price of steel by that amount. Steel is used across many industries, and the price increase will affect all of them.

Raising costs can change the buying behavior of consumers and businesses, slowing down the economy. As production costs rise, companies may cut back on hiring, delay investments, or pass those costs onto consumers, leading to inflationary pressure.

Interested in further insights?

What is the future and how you should prepare for it

While nobody knows for certain where these constantly changing tariffs will lead us, we can make educated guesses, and prepare.

Download the guide to explore actionable steps you can take now to mitigate the risks, stabilize your business, and set yourself up for success regardless of which way the tariffs move tomorrow.

Katana Cloud Inventory

Protect your profits with tariff management

Understand how tariffs impact your inventory value and how to effectively manage costs, profits, and suppliers with Katana.

Capture tariffs accurately and quickly

You can apply tariff costs to your purchase orders, and Katana automatically applies them to your inventory items. Landed costs make pricing of every item easy while protecting profit margins.

Forecast demand and plan accordingly

Calculate the impact of increased costs to inventory based on historical data as well as predict future demand through integrated sales channels. This allows you to have a real-time view of your business performance.

Manage suppliers in real time

Storing your supplier data in Katana is easy and allows you to quickly adapt to any changes you want to make in your supply chain. Optimizing for efficiency fast will protect your cash flow in turbulent times.

Live insights to manage all your costs, inventory, and production

The best way to stay agile is with real-time information. Katana gives you live data about your stock, manufacturing, and costs, enabling you to make informed decisions and stay profitable amid rising costs.

Inventory management

Get real-time inventory insights of all your items and optimize your inventory levels based on demand.

  • Inventory management
  • Reorder points
  • End-to-end traceability
  • Multilocation support
  • Multichannel inventory
  • Product availability

Purchase management

Issue purchase orders for supplies and materials in Katana that are delivered directly to your warehouse or contract manufacturer.

  • Order management
  • Reorder points
  • Contract manufacturing
  • Flexible unit purchasing
  • Multicurrency
  • Purchasing insights

Sales order management

Consolidate all your online and offline sales channels in one view with AI-powered automation for order creation and real-time sales insights.

  • Kits and bundles
  • Traceability
  • Partial shipping and invoicing
  • AI-powered assistant
  • Sales insights
  • Sell goods and services
  • Multicurrency
  • Ecommerce integrations

Planning and forecasting

Make better data-driven decisions as Katana automates your inventory planning — using historical data to predict future demand.

  • Demand planning and forecasting
  • Flexible inventory control
  • Smart replenishment planning

Production management

Optimize your production and decrease lead times based on your bill of materials and operations data.

  • Real-time planning
  • Shop Floor App
  • Manufacturing costs
  • MTS and MTO workflows
  • BOM and subassemblies
  • Ingredient availability

Cloud accounting

Get your inventory and accounting data in sync to better understand your business’s finances.

  • Accounting integrations
  • Accurate costing
  • Sales order management
  • Katana Insights
  • Inventory management
  • Purchase order management

Warehouse management

Our Warehouse add-on provides all the tools and real-time insights to improve picking routes and manage receiving, mobile scanning, and printing — all from a mobile device. 

  • Bin locations
  • Traceability
  • Label printing
  • Barcode scanning
  • Stocktake
  • Warehouse app

Get visibility over your sales and stock

Wave goodbye to uncertainty with Katana Cloud Inventory — AI-powered for total inventory control