Emerging from the constant flux in trade policy and unexpected cost pressures that marked 2025, retailers are spending more to carry less inventory in 2026.

Though U.S. trade deals with China and other key manufacturing locations such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand brought a certain amount of stability, that still leaves retailers and retail suppliers with higher tariffs. U.S. tariffs on key materials in consumer goods and electronics – like wood, aluminum and copper – have also created financial stress. Meanwhile, warehouse and labor costs are rising, and trucking rates that have been highly favorable for shippers for more than three years are forecast to increase in 2026.

From the perspective of a logistics company that serves 7,500 retail customers, here are four key strategies for success in today’s environment.

1. Minimize total landed costs in your supply chain

Cost control starts with where you source your goods but doesn’t end there. The smartest sourcing decisions include evaluating the downstream impacts on your logistics.

One trend that has accelerated as a result of the global trade war is retailers and retail suppliers establishing sourcing hierarchies. While diversification isn’t new, it has evolved beyond a simple China +1 strategy. Now we advise a more intentional, tiered approach to sourcing that prioritizes geopolitical stability, business continuity and cost efficiency. Tiers in the hierarchy beyond China include countries adjacent to China, friendshoring partners, nearshoring to the Americas and reshoring to the United States.

Each choice affects your purchase price and tariffs, with cascading effects on the costs associated with port selection, ocean carrier, shipment timing, inland transportation by rail vs. trucking and even last-mile delivery. If you shift some production to Europe, can you avoid shipping through a congested gateway that delays your inventory and costs you sales? If you stick to your manufacturer in India, are there ways to offset the higher tariffs you’re paying?

Retailers are learning that carrying less inventory doesn’t mean slower service—when sourcing, transportation, agentic supply chains, and logistics intelligence work together, efficiency becomes a competitive advantage in 2026.

For imports, you can lower your total landed costs with options like transloading. We serve a small business that imports for mom-and-pop pet stores around the country and a few chains. Instead of bringing containers to one port and sending them to distribution centers, we use five ports closest to his end customers, break down the freight when it arrives and send individual pallets directly where they need to go. He has zero warehouse overhead. Without investing in buildings or people, transloading arguably gives him a more efficient distribution model than some of the world’s largest retailers.

For domestically sourced inventory, expanding your drop trailer program can keep storage and labor costs down. Empty trailers dropped at your manufacturing site can be filled as goods come off the line, replacing the need for local storage until your merchandise is ready to ship. Full trailers dropped at your warehouses can be unloaded during downtime, optimizing your labor and potentially requiring fewer shifts. New drop trailer innovations incorporating data streams from an Asset Management System even allow for real-time tracking of the inventory on board.

2. Offer great service even with less stock

Keeping delivery times fast while holding less safety stock is possible with an Agentic Supply Chain – an intelligent ecosystem that continuously thinks, learns, adapts and acts. With the latest advancements in agentic AI, every step in the shipping process is an opportunity for greater speed to market. AI agents are knocking hours off of getting a price quote, processing orders, setting appointments for pickup and securing trucks. C.H. Robinson’s fleet of more than 30 AI agents perform these shipping tasks and more 24/7, giving retail suppliers and retailers an edge over slower competitors.

3. Replenish with greater precision

Centralizing your purchase orders and tying them to your freight transportation is a great way to keep inventory to a minimum. You know where everything is located in your supply chain – down to the item level – and a new order is triggered only when and where it’s needed and only in the quantity needed. It allows you to redistribute inventory instead of ordering more and prevents over-ordering when it does come time to replenish.

4. Invest in a digital twin for inventory planning

You might think of conducting simulations in a digital twin of your supply chain for purposes of risk management or testing out the implications of different economic trends. It can also help you manage seasonal inventory. Take pool noodles, for example. There’s not a lot of price elasticity in a pool noodle and the sales window is narrow, so there’s no room for waste.

By modeling various procurement approaches and different combinations of suppliers, inventory positions and routing, you can make sure you buy the right amount of pool noodles at the right frequency. Come pool noodle season, you’ll also have optimized how they fit on trailers and get transported.

As 2026 progresses, watch C.H. Robinson’s monthly Edge Report for timely insights on air, ocean, rail and truck shipping.