RSMUS.comThis post was written by RSM, a Coupa Alliance Partner. From initial implementation through expansion and optimization, we have the people, skills and real-world experience to deliver the right solution for your unique needs.
Coupa’s 2024 Insp!re Conference once again delivered against the hype, as it recorded the largest attendance in the history of the event, with thousands of likeminded industry experts, customers, partners, and Coupa professionals gathering for a few days of insightful discussions, inspirational speakers, cross-learning, and networking in beautiful and vibrant Las Vegas. RSM sent a team of senior leaders from its Data & Digital Services line of business to participate in and host a number of events this year in order to capitalize on such a dynamic and rare gathering of this mix of professionals.
Here are a few takeaways from the event:
Leading with Artificial Intelligence:
Coupa, like most business in today’s market, is on a continuous journey to find ways to develop and leverage the booming AI trend to the advantage of itself and Coupa’s customers. However, where Coupa differentiates itself amongst industry competitors, is that Coupa is focused on using AI with an intentional and honest way, and with integrity. The Power of Coupa’s AI-driven solutions, some of which were demo’d at various points throughout the conference (and were quite impressive, and we are quite excited for them to be released to the general user-base), is only possible due to the fact that Coupa sits on $6T of proprietary transactional data from its customer-base, ethically sourced and only available to them, uniquely positioning Coupa amongst industry competitors to not only have access to this unfathomable amount of data, but also have the resources and strategy to build new features and functionality that their customers will directly benefit from. This truly demonstrates the cyclical power of the Coupa Community.
Leadership Additions
While not necessarily ‘new’ per se, Insp!re did mark the first large-scale event in the United States for Coupa CEO Leagh Turner, a welcome party of sorts, and served as an introduction to the rest of the Coupa Community. Leagh spoke at several events throughout the week, with her primary message being one of driving customer success by leveraging Coupa as a ‘Margin Multiplier’, and ensuring Coupa is seen as a tool for any company, big or small, that is driving innovation in the business spend management market, with cost consciousness and ESG at the forefront. The community is excited to see what Coupa’s new CEO can do to improve and build on an already impressive trajectory.
Coupa’s partnership community is touted as being one of the most diverse and expansive in the industry, and with that, Coupa places a tremendous amount of value at fostering this partnership community. This is evident through the Coupa’s most recent leadership announcement, naming Greg Harbor, as the Chief Partner Officer, a net new position for Coupa. RSM had many opportunities to speak with and network with Greg over the course of the week, and both sides are eagerly awaiting what this partnership can yield in the years to come.
New Partnerships – Coupa & Bottomline
This year’s Insp!re attendees were treated to a new partnership announcement: Coupa & Bottomline. By joining forces, these two industry leaders are poised to revolutionize how businesses manage their finances, offering a comprehensive solution that streamlines processes and enhances efficiency.
Coupa, known for its cutting-edge spend management platform, brings to the table a wealth of expertise in procurement, invoicing, and expense management. Its intuitive interface and robust features have already transformed the way organizations approach their financial operations. On the other hand, Bottomline is a powerhouse in payment automation and financial document management.
Together, Coupa and Bottomline create a formidable alliance that addresses the end-to-end needs of businesses, from procurement to payment. By integrating their technologies, they can provide seamless workflows, real-time visibility, and actionable insights, empowering organizations to make smarter financial decisions.
Driving Product Innovation
Another key theme throughout the information product sessions and keynote speeches was that Coupa is continuing to invest into their product catalog to drive tangible customer value across its many power apps.
This is best exemplified through a fun anecdote: Some of the RSM team found ourselves sitting at a large table eating breakfast with other conference attendees, and one individual pointedly asked “What does everyone like the least about Coupa?” That got a bit of an awkward laugh from the table, but after some more digging, he introduced himself as a Sr. Vice President of Product at Coupa, and was genuinely interested in hearing some direct partner & customer feedback. The table had a lively discussion and the gentleman from Coupa Product team was taking copious notes and actually brokered some meetings between Coupa product development team members and the RSM team to document some ideas and insights we’ve heard from our customers.
This just further exemplifies Coupa’s commitment to continuously improving and eliciting product feedback from the Coupa Community and turning that into features and enhancements in their future state roadmaps to help drive additional benefits for their customers – something Coupa does extremely well.
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