Tariffs & Real Estate: How Supply Chain Shocks Reshape the Market With Kristian O'Meara

What happens when geopolitical uncertainty meets supply chain complexity? In this eye-opening episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere welcomes Kristian O'Meara, known as “KO”, a seasoned global supply chain leader and Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at JAGGAER. Together, they unpack the ripple effects of major trade policy shifts, most notably the U.S.-China tariffs, and how those disruptions have permanently reshaped the landscape for procurement teams, industrial space users, and commercial real estate strategists.

This is more than just a conversation about global logistics, it’s a breakdown on how to survive and thrive in a fractured global economy. Whether you’re a business owner trying to adapt sourcing strategies, a procurement executive navigating compliance challenges, or a commercial real estate agent watching industrial demand surge across inland markets, this episode gives you a front-row seat to the strategies that matter now.

🔍 Key Topics Covered:

✅ Tariffs and Trade Tensions: Gordon and KO explore the long tail of the Trump-era tariffs, how they disrupted legacy procurement pipelines, and why many companies were caught off-guard by the fragility of their global sourcing networks. You’ll hear how tariffs forced executive teams to rethink risk in a more tangible and location-dependent way, sparking major shifts in demand for U.S.-based industrial real estate and logistics assets.

✅ Supply Chain Resilience: KO lays out the new playbook for supply chain resiliency, including the critical role of digital procurement platforms, supplier diversification, and end-to-end visibility. Resilience today is not just about building inventory buffers—it’s about having the real-time data to make smart, fast decisions.

✅ The Nearshoring Boom: One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is the structural movement toward nearshoring. Companies are no longer treating it as a theoretical future; it’s happening right now. KO explains why this shift is creating ripple effects across Mexico, the U.S. Southeast, and the Midwest, making “industrial space” more important than ever for procurement and operations leaders.

✅ Technology Meets Policy: As procurement becomes more central to enterprise strategy, regulatory compliance, trade reporting, and ESG mandates are colliding with digital transformation efforts. KO discusses how platforms like JAGGAER are helping organizations not only comply but also compete.

✅ Why Real Estate is Now a Supply Chain Issue: Gordon and KO touch on a compelling trend: the convergence of physical logistics, real estate, and digital strategy. As warehouses, ports, and even energy access points become critical nodes in corporate strategy, the ability to secure the right space in the right place is becoming a competitive advantage.

📈 Related Resources: Need a strategic real estate plan to match your evolving logistics footprint?

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