Gary Nowacki

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…

It’s been a great week here at Supply Chain Now! Stay in the loop with all our latest conversations right here. We kicked off the week on Monday with 3 new episodes! In this episode, Greg White and Scott Luton welcomed Logan Ensign with Alloy and Katlyn Davis with Valvoline to Supply Chain Now to discuss how sales and supply chain can work together for retail success. On This Week in Business History, host Scott W. Luton interviewed an entertainment industry trailblazer: Ellen Snortland. In this wide-ranging, fascinating discussion, Ellen shares her incredible journey from helping her family survive a horrible, life-changing flood in South Dakota t0 forming the first all-female theater company in Santa Barbara, California – – and beyond! On Supply Chain Now en Espanol, hosts Enrique Alvarez and Demo Pérez welcomed Juan Carlos Croston, president of the Caribbean Shipping Association, to the podcast. On Tuesday, we released 2 new episodes. TEK TOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast released a replay of its latest livestream in which hosts Karin Bursa and Scott Luton welcomed Mallery Dosdall with Red Wing Shoe Co. to learn how S&OP can make an enormous impact on business. On TECHquila Sunrise, host Greg White discusses…