TriVista De-Risks Tariff Exposure and Validates Supply Chain Resilience Ahead of Client Sale

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The Challenge

A healthcare manufacturer was preparing for a potential sale amid increased uncertainty surrounding U.S.–China tariffs and the possibility of future changes to USMCA. With trade exposure becoming an increasingly important area of transaction diligence, management estimated that tariffs could affect nearly 3% of annual material spend, raising questions about EBITDA durability and potential deal risk.

The client engaged TriVista to independently validate those assumptions and determine whether the company’s sourcing strategy, trade compliance infrastructure, and broader supply chain were sufficiently resilient to protect profitability and maintain operational continuity under changing trade conditions.

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Our Approach

TriVista conducted a Quality of Operations™ assessment focused on creating a fact-based view of current tariff exposure and forward-looking supply chain risk.

The team validated tariff exposure by country of origin and HTS code across the company’s direct material spend, then pressure-tested existing mitigation strategies, including in-bond operations, maquiladora structures, and USMCA qualification. TriVista also evaluated category strategies, sourcing diversification, and insourcing initiatives to determine how effectively the business could respond to future trade disruption.

In parallel, TriVista benchmarked the company’s supply chain organization, systems, and trade compliance processes against leading practices and modeled downside scenarios, including a potential lapse in USMCA protections and reinstatement of significantly higher China tariffs. The analysis combined ERP data, supplier spend analytics, tariff simulations, and management interviews to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive view of both near-term exposure and longer-term resilience.

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The Results

TriVista’s analysis materially reduced uncertainty around the company’s tariff exposure ahead of sale. The assessment confirmed that the company’s proactive trade compliance infrastructure and in-bond operating model limited effective tariff exposure to approximately 1.4% of total material spend, less than half of management’s initial estimate.

The findings also validated a mature and diversified supply base, with extensive dual sourcing, embedded compliance processes, and robust financial modeling already in place. This provided stronger support for the durability of EBITDA under changing trade conditions and increased confidence in the company’s supply chain resilience during the transaction process.

TriVista also identified targeted opportunities to further strengthen the business, including refining the tariff risk model, expanding dual sourcing in select categories, and improving visibility into Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers. Together, these recommendations provided a practical roadmap for reducing residual trade and supply chain risk while supporting a more informed and confident transaction process.