How Manufacturers Are Using Epicor for Tariff Management in 2026

The tariff situation in 2026 is not a temporary disruption you can wait out. Steel, aluminum, copper, Chinese imports, auto parts, semiconductors; the list of affected categories keeps growing, and the rules keep changing.

For manufacturers that source internationally, that means making cost and inventory decisions with incomplete information, on a timeline that doesn’t leave room for manual analysis.

The businesses managing it best share one trait: their ERP is correctly set up to help them do it.

The Real Problem Isn’t the Tariff: It’s the Delay

Most mid-size manufacturers aren’t short on data. They’re short on fast data.

When a tariff rate changes overnight and recently, it has, repeatedly, the companies that struggled weren’t the ones without a plan. They were the ones whose teams needed days to piece together a clear picture of their exposure before they could act.

Which suppliers are affected? Which parts? What does the new landed cost look like, and what does that do to the job margin?

If your team is still pulling that together in spreadsheets, you’re already behind.

Epicor is designed to answer those questions from within the same platform your production, purchasing, and finance teams use every day. The data is already there. The issue is whether your setup surfaces it fast enough for your team to act on it.

What Tariff in Manufacturing Looks Like in 2026

Steel and aluminum tariffs expanded again in April 2026, now set at 50% on the full customs value of products made entirely or almost entirely from those metals, not just the metal content.

Canadian goods outside CUSMA compliance now face 35% duties, Mexican goods in the same position face 25%, and most Chinese imports carry an effective rate of roughly 35% from the stacking of Section 122 and Section 301 tariffs.

Advanced semiconductors have faced 25% Section 232 tariffs since January 2026, with broader semiconductor tariffs and ongoing investigations into industrial machinery still working through the system. The picture is clear: this is the new operating environment.

Over half of manufacturing CFOs surveyed in early 2025 were actively diversifying their supplier base. Nearly 40% accelerated purchases ahead of announced tariff changes. Those decisions require accurate inventory data, reliable landed cost visibility, and demand forecasting that reflects current conditions, not last quarter’s assumptions.

Four Ways Epicor Supports Tariff Management

Landed Cost Visibility

The purchase order price doesn’t tell you what a part actually costs anymore. Tariffs, duties, freight, and compliance costs all factor in by the time a component arrives.

Epicor tracks landed costs at the item level, so your production and finance teams see true input costs, not just invoice prices. When a tariff rate changes, that change flows through to cost calculations across the relevant parts and orders. Your team doesn’t have to rebuild the math every time the rules shift.

Inventory and Demand Planning

Just-in-time inventory worked when supply chains were stable. Right now, they aren’t. Manufacturers are building strategic buffer stock, and that’s the right call, but it has to be managed carefully because excess inventory carries real costs too.

Epicor Smart IP&O helps you find the right balance based on actual demand patterns, supplier lead times, and order history rather than guesswork. That matters when conditions change quickly and carrying costs are real.

Supplier Diversification

Most manufacturers know they need to reduce their reliance on single-region sourcing. Fewer have a precise picture of where their current dependencies actually sit.

Epicor gives purchasing teams visibility into supplier spend by part, category, and country of origin. That’s the starting point for any realistic diversification strategy: knowing exactly what you’re sourcing and from where before you start making changes.

Multi-Site Operations

For manufacturers running more than one facility, tariff exposure is rarely the same across all sites. One location may be significantly more affected than another based on its sourcing or product mix.

Epicor’s multi-site capabilities give operations teams visibility across locations, so inventory can be positioned where it’s needed and intercompany transfers happen without creating data gaps when decisions need to move quickly.

The Epicor Configuration Gap Most Businesses Aren’t Closing

Epicor has the tools to handle tariff management well. Most manufacturers using it aren’t getting that value yet, not because the system can’t do it, but because it hasn’t been configured to do it.

That means item costs set up to capture all cost components, not just the PO price. Demand planning parameters tuned to actual replenishment cycles and lead times. Supplier records structured to support origin tracking.

Reporting built around the questions your team actually needs to answer when things move fast.

There’s almost always a gap between what Epicor can do and what it’s currently set up to do. That gap tends to show up most clearly when conditions change quickly and your team needs answers the system isn’t giving them.

It’s a configuration problem. It’s solvable.

Frequently Asked Questions

One Question Worth Asking Your Team Right Now

If tariffs on your primary sourcing region changed tomorrow, how long would it take your team to understand the full cost and inventory implications?

If the answer is days, or involves someone building something in Excel, that’s the gap worth closing. The information almost certainly already exists in your ERP. The question is whether your setup gets it to the right people fast enough to act on it.

EC Solutions works with manufacturers to close that gap. We review how Epicor is currently configured, identify where the real exposure sits, and build the setup that gives your team the visibility they need to move quickly when conditions shift.

No pitch. Just a practical look at what’s working and what isn’t.