When it comes to tech innovation, one topic has dominated the first half of 2025: the meteoric rise of AI agents. And at Unilever, this tech isn’t just “coming soon” – it’s already here. This week, Willem Uijen (Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer, Unilever) and Lauren Acoba (VP, Research, Zero100) discuss how the company is leveraging agents, as well as its broader AI strategy. Looking back at the evolution of AI, from Deep Blue to autonomous agents (1:17) Unilever’s approach to AI implementation and ROI (03:29) The key drivers for agentic success: upskilling and guardrails (05:50)Where agentic AI is delivering value within operations at Unilever (09:30)“Choose the race that you want to run”: An investment litmus test for CSCOs and COOs (11:21) Tackling governance and data quality infrastructure (14:46) How Unilever is modernizing and standardizing its digital core (16:47)The decision Willem would never let AI make – and the one he happily would (18:50)
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20:39
The Data Diaries: What We Learned Building Our Own LLM
ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot – LLMs are everywhere. But how do you integrate them into your operations? After a year spent developing our own LLM, the Zero100 team shares hard-won lessons and a primer on getting LLM design right. Featuring: VP Data & Analytics Cody Stack, Senior Manager, Data Science Julia Dahlgren, and Data Scientist Prajwal Bn.Why we built our own LLM (1:37)Key considerations for your build vs buy decision (2:55)How we leveraged open-source components (5:39)The promise – and challenge – of knowledge graphs (7:42) Encouraging adoption and winning buy-in from leadership (9:38)Why prompt engineering and quality training data are underrated (12:44)The business case for building a small language model (14:46)
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18:13
Europe Is Closing In on Its Climate Targets. What Does That Mean for Supply Chain?
Despite recent pushback against green policy, the EU is on track to score a major environmental win. The Zero100 team dives into what supply chain leaders and policymakers can learn from this success, and how companies are still fulfilling their sustainability pledges. Featuring: Principal Analysts Jenna Fink and Caroline Chumakov and Chief Research Officer Kevin O’Marah.Why we're not surprised by a European climate win (1:00)Key lessons for all following the EU's climate success (5:17)PepsiCo and Mars' win-win sustainability strategies revealed (6:53)Why green policy rollbacks shouldn't stall supply chain action (8:35)Getting practical with emissions reductions: Stories from Kimberly-Clark and ODP (13:34)Is the energy use of large language models a true environmental risk? (16:41)
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23:34
What’s Next for the Supply Chain Tech Stack?
GenAI and autonomous agents are catapulting supply chains into a future that was unimaginable just five years ago, and the pace of innovation is only accelerating. Join Zero100 Chief Content Officer Matt Davis and Principal Analyst Suzanne Lindsay as they reflect on the last 20 years of digital supply chains and how to navigate today’s tech landscape.How Amazon amassed an incredible human sentiment dataset (2:01)New challenges, opportunities in evaluating the world of solution providers (4:04)Unilever's approach to breaking down functional siloes for tech breakthroughs (8:32)The new (and eternal) decision parameters for tech selection (13:37)Top tips for future-proofing your tech stack (18:13)
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24:52
Bot Bosses and Digital Teammates: Designing the Agentic AI Org Chart
AI agents could make up a significant part of company org charts within the next five years, supercharging human productivity. This week, we look at the roles, org structures, and leadership approaches needed to drive these teams forward. Featuring: Chief Content Officer Matt Davis and Chief Research Officer Kevin O’Marah.Unpacking Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index and the coming agent shake-up (01:00) Moderna’s fusion of HR and IT (02:30) Supply chain hiring trends for agentic AI (4:10)“The Path to 40” and bot boss leadership (07:43) Amazon’s two-pizza teams, Spotify guilds, and other models for functional organization (10:34)Moving forward with imperfect data (14:40)Teaching ethics to AI teammates… (18:32) … and readying human employees to work with them (20:30)
Welcome to Zero100, the “unboring” supply chain podcast. Each week, Zero100's researchers, analysts, and data scientists deliver sharp takes on the news, delve into new research, and interview leaders at the forefront of supply chain’s digital revolution, giving you the insights you need to drive growth and resilience.
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