More
procurement
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…
August 7, 2020
This Week on Supply Chain Now: August 1st – 7th
Another BIG week at Supply Chain Now! If you missed an episode, get a quick summary and listen here! We added another TWO additional episodes this week starting on Saturday, August 1st. If you didn’t catch our Supply Chain Buzz livestream last week, you got another chance to see Scott and Greg cover the top news in Supply Chain on Saturday. Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Buzz for July 27th: Brand Rationalization, CSCO Diversity, & More” On Sunday, we continued our Logistics with Purpose series with a great interview with Jon Thompson with Comunidad Connect. Supply Chain Now · “Logistics with Purpose: Jon Thompson with Comunidad Connect” On Monday, Scott and Greg spoke with Andrea Kerr, the VP of Product Management with SpotSee, all about optimizing supply chain visibility. Supply Chain Now · “Optimizing Supply Chain Visibility: Angela Kerr with SpotSee” On Tuesday we had ANOTHER great new program debut! We published the first episode of the Jamin Logistics & Transportation Experience, as Jamin Alvidrez interviewed our very own, Scott Luton! Supply Chain Now · “Adapt & Thrive: Lessons from the Air Force, Andy Griffith & Granddad with Guest…