Coupa: Harnessing AI to Drive Supply Chain Efficiencies

As businesses around the world continue to be hampered by economic uncertainty, it’s important they have the necessary tools at their disposal to ensure their money goes as far as it possibly can.

Coupa has truly stepped up to the plate in this regard, becoming a trusted leader in the field of business spend management (BSM). 

Its artificial intelligence-driven platform is connecting and optimising sourcing, purchasing, supply chains and financial management for no fewer than 3,000 global organisations.

Many of the largest companies on the planet—AstraZeneca, Nestlé, Aon, to name a few—trust Coupa to transform operating margins, increase efficiencies and growth, optimise cash and reduce risk.

It’s little wonder, then, that clients wait with baited breath to discover each groundbreaking new development Coupa has to offer, in the hope they will improve the buying experience and collaboration across the supply chain. 

Advancing AI capabilities 

For more than a decade, according to Coupa’s Chief Product Officer, Fang Chang, the firm has been leveraging the power of AI to help customers automate, increase efficiencies and work smarter in order to improve business outcomes.

“In a world where every business is being tasked to do more with less,” he says, “teams need intuitive, intelligent AI-driven solutions that have the power to transform their operations for the better.”

It’s a statement that rings true and explains why Coupa has poured so much resource into advancing its own AI capabilities, culminating in the launch of a series of exciting innovations. 

These are set to help businesses do the following: 

• Increase payments automation: New accounts payable (AP) automation features extract invoice data from scanned documents, instantly digitising the invoice. AI features also automatically assign tax code rules to invoices, further reducing the need for manual entry and shortening cycle and approval times. 
• Optimise workflow processes: New purchase, supplier, contract and sourcing event requests can be auto-assigned to users based on customised settings for each business. Teams have improved visibility and control over their approval queue, improving time management and freeing bandwidth to tackle more strategic projects. 
• Create more profitable buying experiences: New Coupa App Marketplace integrations with Tonkean and Tropic take the friction out of the buying experience for employees. With intelligent intake orchestration, buying is intuitive. Employees are guided to make smarter decisions that can accelerate more profitable outcomes for the business. 

“AI is a game changer for businesses and one of the most powerful technologies teams can leverage,” comments Josh Waldron, VP Finance & Accounting at Scale.ai. 

“Coupa’s AI-driven platform helps my team to make smarter decisions and, ultimately, enables us to be more strategic because we’re able to focus on what matters.”

Matching supply and demand

Coupa is in the business of helping clients make more informed buying, sourcing, supply chain and financial decisions to drive growth and better match supply and demand.

The company just launched the early access programme for Forecast Collaboration – part of its Supply Chain Collaboration suite – which streamlines communication between buyers and suppliers in order to achieve this. 

Due to be made generally available in May, Forecast Collaboration enables buyers to proactively plan future material needs to mitigate risks and ensure continuous supply. 

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