Does the fast and furious news around tariffs and price increases have your head spinning? Many contractors are wondering how to plan for the year ahead while balancing project timelines, pricing strategies and growing customer expectations. The good news? You’re not alone and you don’t have to guess your way through it.

While the economic conditions might feel uncertain and none of us have a crystal ball, by implementing the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and staying agile, you can mitigate the tariffs’ and price increases’ effects on your operations and bottom line.

What You Can Do — 4 Ways to Prepare for Economic and Supply Chain Disruptions

1. Stay Close to Your Supplier: ABC Supply’s national reach and local support allows us to provide real-time updates and help you adapt quickly when changes occur. Staying in consistent communication with your local ABC Supply branch can help you identify alternatives, anticipate pricing fluctuations or supply shortages, and maintain project momentum.
2. Build Flexible Pricing Into Your Contracts: Building flexible pricing such as “cost plus” contracts minimizes your exposure to changing prices. This approach allows you to bill for actual material costs plus a fee, instead of a lump sum where all the costs are bundled together at the outset.
3. Be Open to Material Substitutions: Consider utilizing alternative or substitute materials that are less impacted by tariffs. This helps you to manage costs effectively and offer competitive pricing to your customers. Contractors who learned to be flexible during the pandemic were better prepared to handle uncertainties or shortages than their competitors.
4. Protect Yourself From Unpreventable Delays: If you include a “force majeure” clause which protects you in the event that delays occur outside of your control, you can minimize being penalized for delays. Here’s example language ABC Supply provided during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Delays or failure of performance caused by “any act, event, or condition that has a material adverse effect on the ability of a party to this Agreement to perform its obligations hereunder if such act, event, or condition is beyond the reasonable control of such party and is not the result of such party’s willful or negligent action or inaction and shall include, without limitation, (i) acts of God, war, public disorders, insurrection, rebellion, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, lightning, or other natural calamities; (ii) acts or inaction of governmental or regulatory agencies or judicial bodies or changes in laws; (iii) explosions or fires; (iv) strikes or labor disturbances; (v) delays in obtaining goods or services from any subcontractor, materialman, or supplier by reason of any occurrence of any of the foregoing causes; or (v) any unforeseeable act or omission of any third party.”

Solid Waste Auth. of Cent. Ohio v. FirmGreen Fuels of Ohio, L.L.C., 2010 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 20220 (2010).

Overall, the best rule of thumb in weathering times like these is to be transparent and communicative with your customers — no matter what. ABC Supply strives to keep our customers up to date on the materials they have ordered, allowing you to make, maintain or adjust plans as necessary and keep your clients informed in the process. By providing transparent, frequent updates to your customers, you are giving them the same ability to keep their projects on track.

How ABC Supply Supports You During Market Shifts

When the world — and the supply chain — was upended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ABC Supply continued to work hand in hand with both our customers and our suppliers to mitigate disruptions and even strengthen the supply chain.

And we’re ready to do that again.

One reason ABC Supply is in a strong position to help you weather any storm — literal or figurative — is our size. When you work with North America’s leading wholesale exterior and interior building supplier, you have access to its 1,000+ locations stocked with materials and a local ABC Supply team you can rely on who is ready to answer your questions and help you find solutions.

Where Do We Go From Here?

There’s no doubt about it: The road ahead might have bumps and curves, but that doesn’t mean you have to get out of the truck. By using strategies such as flexible pricing, utilizing alternative materials and mitigating the impact of delays alongside open and transparent communication, you’ll stay on the path to reaching your business goals.

Tariffs bring a level of uncertainty and challenges for your business. ABC Supply is dedicated to supporting you as you work with your customers during any uncertainty. As always, we will be with you every step of the way.