Christine Barnhart

What a week at Supply Chain Now! If you missed an episode, get a quick summary and listen here. On Monday, we published an excellent episode with Jon Gold, the VP of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. Supply Chain Now · “The Voice of Retail: Jon Gold with the National Retail Federation”   On Tuesday, Scott & Greg welcomed two APICS legends to the podcast, Anthony “Z” Zampello & Fred Tolbert, for a lesson in S&OP fundamentals and best practices.   Supply Chain Now · “S&OP Fundamentals & Best Practices: Anthony “Z” Zampello & Fred Tolbert”   On Wednesday, we published this week’s Supply Chain Buzz, with an update on Hurricane Laura from Riskpulse Chief Meteorologist Jon Davis, and then covered the top news in supply chain with Kara Brown and Will Haraway with Lead Coverage.   Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Buzz for August 24th Featuring Jon Davis, Kara Brown, & Will Haraway”   On Thursday, Greg welcomed Flourish CEO Colton Griffin to the TECHquila Sunrise podcast for a great conversation on the ins and outs of founding a tech company, the start-up life, and the cannabis industry.   Supply Chain Now…

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…