Dr. Luke McClees

It has been a big week (as usual) for Supply Chain Now! Did you miss an episode? Check them all out here: Listen as Daniel Studdard with the Atlanta Regional Commission, talks with Greg and Scott from MODEX 2020 about keeping freight moving:   Rodney Apple with SCM Talent Group joins Greg and Scott from MODEX 2020 to chat about securing top supply chain talent:   On Tuesday, Scott and Greg were joined remotely by Jan van Niekerk with SpotSee, to talk about leveraging technology to protect your shipments during transit:   Scott and Greg were joined by Bob Bova with Accuspeech Mobile from MODEX 2020 and discussed voice automating workflows:   On Thursday we published the new and improved Supply Chain Buzz, with Scott and Greg sharing and discussing the latest news and events in Supply Chain and beyond:   And to finish out the week, Mark Messina and Rick DeFiesta with Geek+ joined Scott and Greg for a discussion about COVID-19’s impact on consumer behaviors, warehouse operations, automation initiatives, and more:   Make sure you subscribe to Supply Chain Now so you never miss an episode and we will see you next week with all new livestreams and…

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…