CPO Rising’s ProcureTech Pulse series continues this week with fresh supply management technology news and updates covering a few recent major announcements. If you are a sourcing, procurement, or spend management solution provider and you are continually innovating the way that procurement and supply chain leaders and practitioners drive value, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a note at info at cporising dot com. Thanks, and enjoy!
Coupa’s Accelerates Agentic Spend Capabilities With Recent Release
FOSTER CITY, Calif., — Coupa, a leading platform for autonomous spend management, announced its latest product release which drives better business outcomes utilizing the full power of AI, using real-time market intelligence and agents to orchestrate and connect spend decisions and workflows.
According to Salvatore Lombardo, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Coupa, “We are shifting the modern procurement and finance leader from running manual operations to directing a high-performing, AI-augmented engine,” he said.
“By letting autonomous agents handle complex payment, sourcing, and supply chain workflows, our customers can eliminate bottlenecks and focus their people on delivering transformational business outcomes that multiply their margins.”
Coupa Appoints Mike Lipps as Interim CEO
FOSTER CITY, Calif. — Coupa, a leading platform for autonomous spend management, announced that Leagh Turner is stepping away from the business as Chief Executive Officer for personal reasons. Mike Lipps, a Thoma Bravo Operating Partner, has been named interim CEO.
The company stated that Lipps previously served as CEO of insightsoftware and Intelerad Medical Systems, led a LexisNexis division as CEO, and spent the first 14 years of his career at Intuit, including running QuickBooks. He is Chairman of the Qlik Board of Directors.
Lipps has held interim chief executive roles at a number of Thoma Bravo portfolio companies.
John Galt Solutions Accelerates the Path from Insight to Action with New Atlas Planning Platform Enhancements
AUSTIN, Texas — John Galt Solutions announced the latest enhancements to its Atlas Planning Platform focused on streamlined user experience, scenario planning, and trade promotion management, helping teams remove barriers to insight, improve planning agility, and drive more confident decision-making across the end-to-end supply chain.
The company stated that to bridge the gap between data, insights and decision-making, teams require tools that surface intelligence quickly without requiring extensive system expertise. The latest Atlas enhancements are designed to further make advanced planning capabilities accessible to every user, ensuring greater focus on driving business outcomes and less time on manual, time-consuming tasks.
According to Matt Hoffman, Vice President of Product and Industry Solutions at John Galt Solutions, “Organizations shouldn’t need a team of software experts to uncover critical supply chain insights,” he said.
“As with our approach to AI innovations, our focus continues to be on accessibility, usability, and value creation. We are extending that vision with the latest Atlas enhancements, removing complexity while delivering robust, easily understood analytics so supply chain teams can seamlessly move from awareness to action, and from action to measurable business outcomes.”
Read the full announcement here.
Tropic Names Co-Founder Justin Etkin CEO
NEW YORK — Tropic, an intelligence layer for modern procurement and finance teams, announced that co-founder and chief operating officer, Justin Etkin, has been named the company’s new CEO. As part of this planned executive succession, co-founder David Campbell will continue serving as chairman of the Board and remain an active advisor to the company, with a focus on go-to-market strategy and broader corporate initiatives.
The company stated that the appointment formalizes a leadership transition that has been taking shape over the past year as Tropic has continued its evolution from a services-led procurement business into an intelligence and AI partner for modern software buyers.
“From the beginning, Dave and I believed that technology buyers deserved the same level of data, intelligence and leverage available to sellers,” said Etkin. “We built Tropic’s services business to solve customers’ immediate procurement challenges while creating a differentiated intelligence foundation.
“Now, we have the opportunity to use that foundation, along with AI, to help customers make better decisions across their entire technology portfolio. I’m grateful for everything Dave and I have built together, and I’m excited to lead Tropic into this next chapter.”
Read the full announcement here.
Asuene Acquires Supply Chain Carbon Management Platform Secaro
TOKYO — ASUENE, Asia’s leading AI sustainability integrated company, announced the completion of its acquisition of Secaro, a UK-based supply chain carbon management platform. The deal marks ASUENE’s eighth acquisition. It strengthens ASUENE’s presence in the European and U.S. markets as global pressure mounts on manufacturers to measure and disclose their supply chain emissions.
The company stated that Secaro brings supply chain sustainability data collection, analytics, and supplier decarbonisation programs to ASUENE’s sustainability platform. Its customers span global manufacturers including Toyota, Honda and GM across a network of more than 8,000 companies in over 90 countries.
According to Kohei Nishiwada, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ASUENE, “Since signing our business alliance agreement with Secaro in July 2025, the two companies have built deep mutual trust while exploring how far we could take our collaboration. Today, I’m honored that Secaro has made the decision to join the ASUENE group,” he said. “My heartfelt thanks go to CEO Toby, the leadership team, the shareholders, and everyone who helped bring this together.
“Secaro serves the supply chains of some of the world’s largest manufacturers, including super major players in automotive and pharmaceuticals. By joining forces with ASUENE, we’ll deliver even greater value to those customers, connecting supply chain data not only across the U.S. and Europe but globally, including Japan and Asia, strengthening our product-level CO2 and LCA capabilities, and helping companies throughout the supply chain cut both energy costs and CO2 emissions. Together, we intend to unlock the full power of this combination and become the clear leader in manufacturing supply chains.”
Read the full announcement here.
