Why it's a Blend of Build and Buy with AI | Richard Davis, Inference Group

AI Governance: Why People Are the Missing Link | Olivia Gambelin

AI governance has moved from the periphery of the agenda to the centre of it. The problem is, too many organizations are approaching it wrong. In this episode of Decision Loop, Christine Babington speaks with Olivia Gambelin, AI ethicist, founder of Ethical Intelligence, and author of Responsible AI, about why governance frameworks break down from the inside out. Olivia draws on her years of experience advising Fortune 500 companies and shaping AI policy in Brussels to make the case that people are consistently overlooked within AI implementation, how internal politics corrodes even the most thorough governance plans, and why AI governance is not the blocker to innovation that some claim it is. The conversation covers agentic AI and explainability, and the essential questions every leadership team should ask before committing to an AI transformation. Olivia sets out a clear, honest guide to building accountability structures that hold. If you are leading AI adoption in complex operational environments, this episode is worth your time. Follow Decision Loop on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Chapter Markers (00:00) - Opening insight: why people are forgotten in the AI narrative (03:47) - Why AI governance has taken centre stage of the leadership agenda (07:45) - The three pillars of responsible AI: people, process and technology (10:23) - Explainability and accountability: what they mean on the ground (12:29) - Internal politics as a governance blocker: who owns AI governance? (16:40) - Innovating against a backdrop of changing regulations (17:03) - Why governance is actually beneficial to execution (19:59) - Where to start: the one question every leadership team should ask first 🔗 Useful Links Christine Babington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christine-babington-smith Olivia Gambelin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviagambelin/ RELEX Solutions Website: https://www.relexsolutions.com/

The AI Pilot Trap: Why Most Never Gain Traction | Robyn Bolton, MileZero

Running AI pilots has become standard practice, but few are scaling. In this episode of Decision Loop, Christine Babington speaks with Robyn Bolton, founder of MileZero and former Procter & Gamble innovator, about why experimentation rarely converts into results and what it takes to change that. Robyn draws on her consulting work, research, and hands-on experience launching Swiffer at P&G to break down why AI pilots stall, how leaders need to change their behavior, and why innovation is a system rather than an event. They also cover the danger of action without achievement, the relay race model for scaling initiatives, how to evaluate whether a pilot is worth continuing, and the three things every leader should do before green-lighting the next AI proposal. If you're a senior leader in retail, supply chain, or manufacturing, this conversation will change how you think about AI pilots. Follow Decision Loop on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube for more. Chapter Markers (00:00) - Opening: If something feels stuck, kill it (02:37) - What is driving the explosion of AI pilots across enterprises? (06:15) - Innovation as a system: what that means (12:45) - Fail fast, learn fast: how do you know you are not quitting too early? (17:40) - The patterns and pitfalls that break a handoff (21:11) - The one question every leader should ask before approving a pilot (24:18) - Three key takeaways 🔗 Useful Links Christine Babington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christine-babington-smith Robyn Bolton LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynmbolton/ Unlocking Innovation: A Leader's Guide for Turning Bold Ideas Into Tangible Results: https://BookHip.com/BFRXKZD RELEX Solutions Website: https://www.relexsolutions.com/

Svante Göthe on Why AI-Driven Forecasting is the Only Way to Tackle Waste at Scale

Thinking of waste as just a sustainability problem is too narrow. It also affects profitability, and many organizations consider only part of the picture. In this episode of Decision Loop, Christine Babington is joined by Svante Göthe, Head of Sustainability at RELEX Solutions, to explore how physical waste, labour inefficiency, and logistics are some of the biggest contributors to margin erosion for retail, manufacturing and supply chains. Svante reveals why waste is so difficult to prioritise, how AI-driven forecasting is the foundation for any waste reduction strategy, and why the organizations that get planning right are already halving waste ahead of global 2030 targets. With real-world results including a 30% reduction in production waste at Blount Fine Foods and a 25% drop in transport emissions at a German grocery retailer, this episode makes a clear case: tackling waste can make an organization an industry winner.  Follow Decision Loop on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube for more insights on intelligent planning and enterprise transformation. Chapter Markers (00:00) - Opening: AI as the Key to Tackling Waste (02:55) - The Scale of the Problem: Stats on Retail and Food Waste (06:30) - What is Driving the Focus on Waste Reduction Today? (11:49) - The Role of AI Forecasting in Preventing Waste (15:23) - Transport Efficiency: Reducing Mileage and Emissions (19:49) - Optimism and the Finnish Food Waste Success Story 🔗 Useful Links Christine Babington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christine-babington-smith [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christine-babington-smith] Svante Göthe LinkedIn: https://se.linkedin.com/in/svante-göthe [https://se.linkedin.com/in/svante-g%C3%B6the] RELEX Solutions Website: https://www.relexsolutions.com/ [https://www.relexsolutions.com/]

Why it's a Blend of Build and Buy with AI | Richard Davis, Inference Group

Most AI projects do not fail outright. They just can't scale. That distinction matters more than most organizations realize. In this episode of Decision Loop, Christine Babington is joined by Richard Davis, CEO and co-founder of Inference Group, to discuss a decision facing many enterprise leaders: whether to build AI capabilities in-house, buy off the shelf, or take a blended approach. Richard draws on hands-on experience leading AI programmes to unpack why so many AI initiatives stall at the pilot stage, touching on data readiness, governance, and the hidden costs of in-house builds. He also shares a framework for deciding which AI capabilities your organization should own and which are better left to specialist vendors. If you lead AI investment decisions in retail, manufacturing, or supply chain, this episode will sharpen your thinking on one of the most consequential decisions in enterprise AI right now. Follow Decision Loop on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Chapter Markers (00:00) - Introduction and icebreaker: what would you automate with AI? (03:22) - What triggered the build vs buy debate in enterprise AI? (05:14) - Why 70% of AI projects fail to scale (09:52) - How to evaluate whether to build, buy, or blend (12:18) - Lifetime costs and the maintenance challenge (13:31) - The blended approach: knowing what to own (14:21) - Examples from Octopus Energy and Ocado (17:21) - Where enterprise AI is heading in the next one to two years (19:06) - Key takeaways and wrap-up 🔗 Useful Links Christine Babington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christine-babington-smith [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christine-babington-smith] Richard Davis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richadavis/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richadavis/] RELEX Solutions Website: https://www.relexsolutions.com/ [https://www.relexsolutions.com/]

How Your Organization Can Prosper in an AI Augmented World | Ron Crabtree, MetaOps

Most organizations are asking the wrong question about AI. It's not whether to invest, but how to make it really work. In this episode of Decision Loop, Christine Babington speaks with Ron Crabtree, CEO of MetaOps Inc., about what it takes to build AI-enabled organizations in manufacturing and retail to truly prosper in an AI-augmented world. Ron draws on decades of experience in operational excellence, Lean Six Sigma, change management, and supply chain transformation to explain why organizational readiness matters as much, if not more, than the technology itself. They explore what's driving AI urgency in manufacturing and retail today, why the people-process-technology sequence is more critical than most leaders realize, and how value stream mapping with activity-based costing can expose the 20% of steps driving 80% of the opportunities. Ron also shares a practical framework for building AI-enabled teams, one that starts with measurable business outcomes before tooling. If you lead a supply chain, retail, or manufacturing organization and want a clear, practical guide to getting ahead with AI, this is a strong place to start. Chapter Markers (00:00) - Episode Introduction (02:15) - What is driving AI urgency in manufacturing and retail (05:52) - The four future-of-work scenarios and what they mean for industry (07:39) - Why starting with technology is a mistake (09:27) - How to start: building from business outcomes (11:47) - Engaging people through value stream mapping and process data (15:21) - Making the process practical – scoping it down to what matters (18:53) - What AI-enabled teams look like (21:15) - One piece of advice for leaders starting this journey (22:57) - Key takeaways and close 🔗 Useful Links Christine Babington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christine-babington-smith Ron Crabtree LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roncrabtree RELEX Solutions Website: https://www.relexsolutions.com/