Lorraine Jenks

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…

During the Revolutionary War it was common for fledging Americans to melt lead and pewter household implements and recast the liquid into ammunition. It was a simple call: You didn’t send soldiers into battle unarmed. Today’s musket balls are the masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) that shield our incredibly courageous health care workers on the frontline of COVID-19. This PPE is in short supply both nationally and worldwide. America remains committed to putting the right tools into the hands of those who are doing so much to protect us. And the 100 Million Mask Challenge is a big step in that direction. Originally launched by Providence, in Washington State, the 100 Million Mask Challenge now calls on manufacturers, the business community and individuals nationwide to coordinate their efforts to rapidly produce PPE on the large scale needed by our nation’s caregivers. Since scaling this initiative nationwide, tens of thousands of visitors have checked out AHA’s expanded website, many of which have been manufacturers downloading the specs to make masks, face shields and gowns, or hospitals seeking the latest guidance on hand sanitizers and best practices from around the field for PPE decontamination. As AHA continues to grow the…