The pandemic is accelerating the need to closely align supply and demand -- a task Coupa's acquisition of Llamasoft seeks to address by putting procurement and supply chain technology in one place. "Combined, the two companies can shorten the lead time between supply chain decision and execution by having all the data in one system," according to the release. Companies with Llamasoft can use artificial intelligence to map, model and create digital twins of their supply chains. Mapping and running scenarios have been important to supply chain visibility and risk mitigation for several years, but, like many factors, the pandemic has amplified their significance. Coupa has been working with customers on linking inventory management and procurement via software to avoid wasted spend.