The Zero100 Podcast

Everyone says judgment is the human skill that will keep us ahead of the machines. But few organizations have defined what good judgment looks like, let alone how to build or measure it. This week, Lauren Acoba (VP, Head of Intelligence & Advisory) sits down with Caroline Chumakov and Geraint John (VPs, Intelligence & Advisory) to change that. As AI takes on more of the transactional work, they explore what judgment actually is, why it’s getting harder to learn on the job, and what the best supply chain and operations leaders are doing to build it on purpose.

For years, enterprise AI has been framed as a build decision. But as agents move into full-scale operations, the real cost is running them every day – and the meter doesn’t stop running. This week, Chief Research Officer Kevin O’Marah sits down with VP, Intelligence & Advisory Kelly Coutinho to unpack the new economics of enterprise AI. They explore why a paper mill and a McDonald’s promotion need very different kinds of AI and compute, what to meter versus where to commit to dedicated capacity, and why what your business knows, not access to frontier models, is what delivers a lasting competitive edge.

What’s harder: transforming a century-old carmaker for the digital age, or building one from scratch with no safety net? In this special episode, Zero100 Executive in Residence Jim Rowan – former CEO of Volvo Cars and Dyson – reunites with his former Volvo colleague Javier Varela, now Chief Operations Officer at Rivian, to explore how a software-first foundation is paving the way for AI-defined operations. Javier shares how Rivian uses the vehicle itself as part of the factory system, why early architectural choices helped cut the R2’s bill of materials in half, and how its homegrown “Large Driving Model” and custom silicon position the company to win in autonomy.

For years, leaders have talked about how difficult it is to secure funding beyond standard operations, assuming that breaking through requires a massive balance sheet and a deep tech budget. But Zero100’s latest research reveals a surprising truth: the correlation between investment and digital maturity is virtually nonexistent. This week, Chief Research Officer Kevin O’Marah sits down with VP, Research & Advisory Jenna Fink to explore findings from her upcoming report on the future of the orchestrated factory, discussing how to open up the “black box” of production, leverage the agility of smaller footprints, navigate integration hurdles in brownfield sites, and shift toward network-level decision-making.

With AI rapidly flooding the world with text, design, and code, will the market place a premium on human-made craftsmanship and strategic thought, or will efficiency and utility entirely eclipse the human element? This week, Zero100 Chief Content Officer Matt Davis moderates as Lauren Acoba (VP, Head of Research & Advisory) and Justin Gillebo (Senior Director, Research & Advisory) debate the future value of human work. Tune in as they unpack everything from “AI slop” and the hidden costs of unthoughtful content generation to agentic workflows, accountability, and why supply chain leaders must experiment while building rigorous human judgment.