With a wave of new tariffs recently announced by the U.S. government, companies that rely on imported materials and components are scrambling to understand the impact on their operations and their bottom line. For businesses using Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS), the challenge is clear: how do you account for these additional costs in a way that’s flexible, transparent, and responsive to ongoing changes?
Tariffs are not just an operational issue — they’re also a politically charged topic. Critics argue that they can drive up prices, disrupt supply chains, and hurt long-term economic growth, while supporters believe they are a necessary tool to protect domestic industries. Regardless of where you stand on the debate, the immediate reality for many businesses is the same: the rules have changed, costs will be higher, and systems need to adapt quickly.
At Traust, we’re working closely with clients who are navigating exactly this situation. Based on that experience, here are three key strategies we recommend for managing tariff-related costs within EBS:
1. Apply Tariff Costs Dynamically — Separate from Other Expenses
The first instinct for many businesses is to lump tariffs into the total cost of goods sold (COGS) — simply increase the material cost and move on. But that approach makes it much harder to track the financial impact of tariffs over time, and it introduces unnecessary complexity into your cost management.
Instead, configure your cost structures in EBS to recognize tariffs as a distinct surcharge. This keeps the core material and labor costs intact while allowing you to:
- Adjust tariff values independently as rates change.
- Apply the correct surcharge across all affected products using centralized rules.
- Reverse or update tariffs without having to manually revise every bill of material.
This dynamic setup gives your costing team far more agility, and it ensures that tariff-related fluctuations are traceable for both financial and strategic analysis. For teams navigating this change, working with experienced Oracle EBS consulting partners can help ensure a clean and scalable setup.
2. Customize Invoices Based on Customer Needs
How you pass along tariff costs to your customers isn’t just a pricing issue — it’s a communication issue. Some clients may prefer a rolled-up price that includes all fees. Others may require the tariff to be shown as a separate line item for their own accounting or tax purposes. And still others may have special arrangements that spread out the tariff’s impact over time.
Oracle EBS supports this level of customization with flexible invoice templates. By assigning different templates to different customer accounts, you can ensure each client receives an invoice format tailored to their needs. This could include:
- Itemized tariff charges listed separately from product costs.
- Summary-level charges grouped by category.
- Deferred or amortized cost structures.
This approach is especially important in B2B environments, where clarity and compatibility in invoicing can make or break a customer relationship.
3. Invest in Reporting and Analytics to Track Tariff Impact
To make smart decisions about pricing, sourcing, and customer relationships, you need visibility. That means having the right data models and reporting structures in place to isolate and analyze the effect tariffs are having on your operations.
In EBS, that starts by ensuring tariffs are treated as their own charge category — distinct from base cost or tax. From there, you can build reporting tools that:
- Show period-over-period changes in tariff-related costs.
- Track total tariff liability across suppliers and product lines.
- Forecast how future rate changes could impact margins.
This level of insight isn’t just good accounting — it’s strategic. When tariffs rise or fall, or when trade policy shifts again, your team will be ready to adjust course with confidence.
For organizations that need more advanced or customized insights, Oracle APEX is a powerful tool for building tailored reporting dashboards and analytics applications. Companies can use Oracle APEX development services to extend their EBS data in meaningful ways — especially when standard reports don’t tell the full story.
Make the Tariff Impact Visible — and Manageable
Regardless of your perspective on the broader policy debate, the new tariffs present a real and immediate operational challenge for many companies. They add complexity to global supply chains, affect how businesses price and sell their products, and introduce new layers of cost that must be tracked and reported.
For organizations running Oracle EBS, the good news is that the tools are already there to manage this complexity — if they’re configured and used the right way. By isolating tariff costs, customizing how they appear on invoices, and investing in reporting that gives you clear visibility into the financial impact, you can maintain flexibility and clarity in an uncertain environment.
At Traust, we work with clients to build practical solutions that respond to shifting business realities — whatever the policy landscape. If your team is navigating this challenge, we’d be happy to help. Let’s talk.
