Robyn Grable

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…

Get ready to increase your supply chain IQ! Check out all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams from this week right here! On Saturday, Karin Bursa welcomed Manda Hunt from the Empty Stocking Fund to TEK TOK to talk about how the organization transformed from a brick and mortar model to an online virtual gift selection.     On Sunday, Scott and Greg welcomed Mark Morley from OpenText to the podcast to share his key observations in the latest supply chain tech.     On Monday’s podcast episode, Wasim Munayyer from the Munayyer Group joined Jamin on Logistics & Beyond to talk about the three traits needed to succeed when it comes to optimizing technology in the freight space & the importance of leveraging available resources and information related to tech.     On Tuesday, Scott Luton and special co-host Page Siplon with TeamOne Logistics welcome an esteemed panel of mental health advocates on the podcast: John Hearn with The Benefit Company and established healthcare leader, Yinka Ajirotutu.     On Wednesday, Scott Luton and Greg White welcome Eric Olson with Total Quality Logistics and Bobby Holland with U.S. Bank to talk about the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index.…