According to reports, Coupa, a global business cost management technology, acquired Llamasoft, a supply network management company, for $1.5 billion.

Coupa CEO Rob Bernshteyn said that this has led to the integration of Coupa’s cost management and acquisition technology with Llamasoft’s supply network and planning software, at a stage when companies favor flexibility and the ability to stress on a dime.

This asset is Coupa’s fourth purchase in 2020. This year, Coupa has acquired ‘Bellin’, a financial management software provider, supplier diversification expert ‘ConnXus’, and travel expense management ‘Yapta’. 

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Coupa seeks to tackle the need to carefully match supply and demand by bringing sourcing and supply network technology together in one space during the pandemic.

According to the press release, ‘The two companies can integrate all data into one system, thereby jointly shortening the time from supply chain decision-making to execution.”

Mapping and operational scenarios have been essential for supply chain transparency and risk reduction for many years, but like other elements, the pandemic has increased its relevance. Companies that own Llamasoft can employ artificial intelligence for mapping, simulating, and creating a digital match of their supply network.

Coupa has worked with customers to link stock management and purchasing through software to prevent unnecessary expenditures. The Llamasoft appropriation fosters collaboration between operations and procurement as the lama.ai platform offers features for creating and testing inventory plans and setting safety stock targets.

The company has many distinguished clients. Llamasoft lists companies such as Boeing, Heineken, Walmart, and IKEA on its website. As the company focuses on cutting costs or managing them, the interest of Coupa buyers has skyrocketed. The list includes Office Depot, Sprouts Market, and Sanofi. The software company announced on Thursday that Walmart will expand its stake in Coupa to contain acquisition and contract lifecycles.

Supply chain swaps old technologies with new technologies to connect processes. Cloud computing because of this is gaining more popularity. P&S Research predicts that the global cloud service network management market will reach $ 11 billion by 2023.

Few like LinkedIn’s supply chain experts disagree on the Coupa acquisition by Llamasoft and its end-user features.

‘Venture capitalists purchase software providers time and again and push for integration. This usually results in the brain and skills drain. Will this happen here?” writes Lora Cecere, Supply Chain Insights founder.

Several commentators have asked if both the companies can act cooperatively and if Coupa’s broad portfolio could outshine Llamasoft’s niche. While others point to future supply networks where AI makes decisions and added value outweighs cost savings.