Lecedra Welch

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…

Another BIG week at Supply Chain Now! If you missed an episode, get a quick summary and listen here! On Monday, we published a new episode in This Week in Business History. Scott shared the stories of a few retail legends, the birth of Motown, and more! Supply Chain Now · “This Week in Business History for August 17th: Retail & Radio Legends are Born”   We continued the Today in Manufacturing series on Tuesday as Kelly Scheib with Proterra joined Laura Madajewski, Jason Moss, and Scott on the podcast on Tuesday.   Supply Chain Now · “Serving the People Behind the Numbers: Kelly Scheib with Proterra”   On Wednesday, we published this week’s Supply Chain Buzz, where Scott and Greg shared the top supply chain stories of the week.   Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Buzz for August 17th: Imports Up, Cold Chain Explosion, & Good News”   On Thursday, we shared an excellent interview on supply chain leadership as Scott & Greg spoke with Rick Blasgen, the President & CEO of CSCMP.   Supply Chain Now · “Leading the Supply Chain Industry Forward: Rick Blasgen with CSCMP”   And we wrapped up the week a little…