From Tariffs to Tactics: How Tailored Brands’ Supply Chief Turns Disruption Into Strategy

At ShopTalk Fall in Chicago today, supply chain volatility was not treated as a risk to be managed but as a reality to be harnessed. In a keynote interview, Jamie Bragg, Chief Supply Chain Officer and EVP at Tailored Brands, described how years of tariff shocks, policy swings and pandemic disruption have forced his organisation to build resilience into every decision.

Learning from tariffs to redesign sourcing

Bragg recalled the “trial by fire” of the 2016–2020 tariff era, when 70% of Tailored Brands’ products were sourced from China. The sudden escalation of trade policy forced the company to reconsider its sourcing footprint. Decisions to move production to Mexico and then India underscored the trade-offs: saving on tariffs sometimes meant sacrificing speed or accepting new risks.

“Standing still is not an option,” Bragg said. “Every move you make creates new challenges but doing nothing guarantees exposure.”

Today, the company layers multiple levers to stay ahead: counter-sourcing to spread risk, negotiating closely with vendors to control costs, and scrutinising inventory days and in-transit stock to respond to shocks in real time.

AI as a tactical and strategic tool

No keynote in 2025 could avoid the question of AI, and Bragg divided his approach into three fronts:

1. Internal innovation: Tailored Brands has a dedicated “tiger team” experimenting with AI in a sandbox environment, focused on faster tactical decision-making.

2. Vendor technology: leveraging AI embedded in partners’ systems, from commercial planning to logistics visibility.

3. Emerging upstarts: areas such as computer vision for labour efficiency in distribution centres are on his radar.

He cited the company’s partnership with Project44 during the pandemic to gain visibility on shipments, and newer demand-sensing systems that connect inventory forecasting with hyper-local assortments in stores. “A month-ahead view of what demand looks like allows us to plan assets - people, vehicles, distribution - with precision. That’s where AI becomes a game-changer,” he said.

The hardest part: process and alignment

Technology alone, Bragg stressed, is not enough. “You can implement tools all day long, but if the process isn’t defined and agreed across functions, you won’t get the results.” The real challenge lies in aligning logistics, merchandising and store operations so that efficiency gains in one area do not create bottlenecks in another.

KPIs, in his view, should be treated less as targets and more as guardrails - signals to ensure that processes are on track as systems scale.

A call to action

As retailers head into Q4, Bragg noted, most holiday plans are already set. But now is the time to plan the next year’s roadmap. His advice: use the period to identify where cross-functional teams can deliver the biggest impact. “Breaking down silos to create synergy between functions is how you take performance to the next level,” he told the audience.

For supply chain leaders, the message was clear: volatility is permanent, but with scenario planning, vendor partnerships and disciplined process alignment, unpredictability can become a competitive advantage.

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