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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…
July 17, 2020
This Week on Supply Chain Now- July 11th-17th
BIG WEEK here at Supply Chain Now! Did you catch all the episodes? If not, listen here! We added a special Saturday episode on the 11th in our Logistics with Purpose series. Scott, Greg, and Enrique Alvarez hosted Jonathan Starr and Trudy Hall with the Abaarso School. Supply Chain Now · “Logistics with Purpose: Jonathan Starr & Trudy Hall with the Abaarso School” On Monday, we celebrated our 400TH EPISODE and the entire Supply Chain Now team shared their favorite episodes and topics in this special show! Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Now Team Reflects on 400 Episodes” Then on Tuesday, we featured This Week in Business History, where Scott looks back at some of the biggest historical events in business history for the week ahead. This week focused on the beginnings of Boeing. Supply Chain Now · “This Week in Business History for July 13th: Boeing Takes Off in the Pacific Northwest” On Wednesday we published the Supply Chain Buzz, where Greg and Scott discussed the top supply chain news of the week, and were joined by special guest Kevin L. Jackson, with SourceConnecte. Supply Chain Now ·…