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October 15, 2020
This Week on Supply Chain Now: October 12th – 16th
It’s been an exciting week here at Supply Chain Now! Catch up on all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams right here for all the hottest supply chain news! On Saturday, Scott and Greg welcomed Eric Johnson with JOC & Enrique Alvarez with Vector Global Logistics to the podcast! On Monday, Scott and Greg spotlight one of the strategic sponsor partners of the AIAG Supply Chain Summit, Surgere, as they welcome Robert Fink and Katie Lewis to the show. On Tuesday’s podcast episode, Scott & Greg welcomed Alex Pradhan, Product Strategy Leader with John Galt Solutions, to discuss the top three lessons learned in 2020 from a supply chain planning perspective. On Wednesday, Scott and Greg hosted the Supply Chain Buzz where they dove into the boom in warehouse employment, sustainability shifts within the business environment, and other hot supply chain news! On TECHquila Sunrise this Thursday, Jason Perez, CEO and founder of YARDZ, joined Greg White to talk about how he found the will and the skill to succeed in supply chain tech against all odds. And we wrapped up the week with JP Wiggins of 3Gtms and Kara…
autonomous spend management
December 18, 2025
Coupa’s Nari Viswanathan on Autonomous Spend, AI Accessibility, and the Future of Planning
At the Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton sat down with Nari Viswanathan, a veteran innovator in the planning and procurement technology space and a key leader at Coupa. The two reconnected after several recent collaborations—including webinars, industry sessions, and conversations in Dallas—and discussed the new realities of supply chain planning and how organizations are embracing technology like never before. Coupa and Autonomous Spend Management For those less familiar with Coupa, Viswanathan explained the company as the global leader in autonomous spend management—a framework that brings together direct and indirect spending to help organizations manage total spend more intelligently. Direct spend, of course, is where supply chain operations come into focus, making planning, design, and cost optimization central to the value Coupa delivers. Viswanathan leads Coupa’s global supply chain strategy, shaping how the company positions and scales its solutions across the market. After years spent in supply chain planning technology, he now sits at the intersection of procurement, supply chain, and advanced analytics—an area he believes has never been more exciting or more critical. Old Problems, New Pressures—and a Greater Willingness to Innovate When asked about the biggest challenges facing planners today, Viswanathan emphasized a…