Coupa: Transforming Procurement in Global Manufacturing

In an era of supply chain volatility and intensifying cost pressures, global manufacturers face a critical challenge: how to transform procurement from a fragmented, regional function into a unified, strategic advantage.

Many organisations have digitised parts of their source-to-pay processes, but truly modernising procurement across multiple geographies – particularly for direct materials that fuel production – requires more than just new technology. It demands a fundamental rethinking of how procurement teams collaborate with suppliers, how they enable adoption across diverse regional teams and how they build the operational foundations to sustain change at scale.

The manufacturers getting this right aren't just implementing new systems; they're redesigning their entire approach to direct spend management, supplier relationships and cross-regional coordination.

They're investing as much in change management and localised training as they are in automation. And they're seeing tangible results: improved supply continuity, greater process efficiency and procurement teams that can focus on strategic value rather than manual transactions.

Coupa's upcoming webinar, Procurement Reimagined: Best Practices for Managing Direct Spend in Global Manufacturing, will feature an in-depth examination of these topics.

To register, click here.

Unifying spend with AI-driven solutions

One solution manufacturers are turning to is Coupa, which is helping to unify direct and indirect spend to maximise profits and performance in chemicals, food, fuel, metals, pharmaceuticals and utilities. Its tools have helped to optimise business resilience through the use of AI-driven demand predictions, capacity planning and supplier risk assessment.

Coupa also helps manufacturers gain supply assurance for critical raw materials and finished goods by enabling collaboration between buyers and suppliers. 

Salvatore Lombardo, Coupa Chief Technology and Product Officer, says: "As business leaders navigate uncertainty, success hinges on their ability to deploy innovative technologies to drive smarter decisions and measurable outcomes.

"Coupa's unified, design-to-pay platform arms leaders with a robust picture of their financial landscape, driving cost efficiency and significant bottom-line impact, enabling strategic growth initiatives to optimise business processes, allowing for higher order work. For today's buyers and suppliers to build supply chain resilience, companies must identify and secure alternative sources of critical materials.

"By partnering with or investing in a vast supplier network like Coupa's, they can help secure future availability. This helps reduce exposure to geopolitical risk, tariff and price volatility and regulatory bottlenecks, making their companies more resilient."

Procurement reimagined

Coupa's upcoming webinar, Procurement Reimagined: Best Practices for Managing Direct Spend in Global Manufacturing, will feature an in-depth examination of the aforementioned topics.

This session will examine how industry-leading manufacturers are reimagining their source-to-pay operations – streamlining direct materials management, integrating multi-region activities and accelerating efficiency through automated workflows and stronger supplier partnerships.

Attendees will gain actionable insights for empowering international teams, including methods to enhance direct spend oversight, maintain supply chain resilience and drive user adoption through region-specific training, targeted change management and flexible technology infrastructure.

Join experts from Coupa and Optis Consulting to discover proven strategies for revolutionising procurement in global manufacturing.

To register, click here.

Meet the speakers

Mark Schenecker, VP, Direct Materials at Coupa

Known for turning complexity into actionable results, Mark blends technical expertise with deep industry insight to deliver measurable value across supply chain planning, sourcing, procurement and supplier collaboration.

A frequent speaker, patent holder and published author, he is passionate about solutions that meet the demands of today's dynamic supply chains.

Rafael Zveibil, Partner at Optis Consulting

Rafael brings more than 20 years of experience in procurement technologies, with a strong record of leading successful S2P implementations.

Since joining Optis in 2013, he has focused on procurement transformation, process optimisation and change management, helping clients realise the full potential of their procurement solutions.

Ella Wilkinson, Broadcast Editor at BizClik

With almost a decade of media experience under her belt, Ella Wilkinson is Broadcast Editor at BizClik.

Having worked across various forms of multi-media, from TV to visual journalism and event hosting, Ella's media career began in 2017, where she helped run two television stations in the East of England as an anchor and producer.

This was followed by five years as a visual journalist and camera operator, before going into events as a host and compere.