Post by Ferag Solutions

General merchandise operators in 2026 face a sourcing dilemma that directly inflates cost per order. Tariffs and economic uncertainty are impacting general merchandise companies. Tariffs restrict the retail best practice of just-in-time inventory sourcing, forcing a choice: pay now for goods that may sit in a warehouse unpurchased, scramble to source more at the last minute at very high cost, or be unable to source altogether when demand comes. Each of those choices has a direct impact on the cost of processing one order. Overstocking inflates carrying cost per unit. Last-minute sourcing inflates procurement cost per unit. Stock-outs generate reprocessing, substitution, and customer service cost. All three inflate the Cost of Order Fulfillment the total economic cost of processing one order, end to end. The general merchandise operations managing this well are not the ones that predicted sourcing conditions correctly. They are the ones that built fulfillment architecture flexible enough to absorb variability in inbound volume without absorbing proportional variability in cost per order. When Cost of Order Fulfillment is the design benchmark, the fulfillment system becomes a buffer against external uncertainty rather than an amplifier of it. Tariffs did not create the cost problem. They made it visible. Was it already there? 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dtm48WTG