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June 4, 2021
This Week In Supply Chain Now: May 31st – June 4th
Check out everything that’s been happening at Supply Chain Now! We’re looking back on all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes right here. On Monday, we released a special Memorial Day episode of Veteran Voices, hosts Scott W. Luton and Kelly Barner share their own personal messages, including what Memorial Day means to them and a few examples of those incredible individuals that sacrificed it all for others. On Tuesday, we released 2 new episodes! On this TEKTOK Classic Episode, host Karin Bursa speaks with Lora Cecere, CEO of Supply Chain Insights and industry trailblazer, about her career journey. On TECHquila Sunrise, host Greg White continues his conversation with Jack Freeman of PeakSpan Capital, discussing the current investment environment for supply chain tech. On Wednesday, Dr. Marcell Vollmer with Boston Consulting Group and Jacob Gorm Larsen with Maersk Group joined hosts Kelly Barner and Scott Luton on Dial P for Procurement to discuss digital procurement transformation. On Thursday, we released this week’s episode of The Supply Chain Buzz, powered by OpenText. In this episode, Supply Chain Now Co-hosts Greg White and Scott Luton are joined by Kelly Barner (Host of Dial P for Procurement) to talk about the 2021 Supply…
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…