From Silos to Systems Thinking: How Inchainge Is Rewiring Supply Chain Skills for the Age of AI and Circularity with Rada Lazarova

Simulation is the missing layer in supply chain talent development. That is the thesis of this episode of the Supply Chain Revolution podcast, where Sheri Hinish sits down with Rada Lazarova from Inchainge, the company behind The Fresh Connection and The Blue Connection, the world's leading supply chain business simulations used by over 40% of the world's top 100 manufacturers and nearly half a million learners across more than 100 countries.  Rada, based in Utrecht in the Netherlands, brings a perspective shaped by her own journey from Bulgaria to Wisconsin to the Dutch experiential learning ecosystem. She explains why traditional supply chain education falls short: it teaches theory without context, creating professionals who understand frameworks but freeze when confronted with the cross-functional complexity of real supply chain decisions. Inchainge's simulations drop participants, whether university students or Fortune 500 executives, into virtual companies where they take on VP-level roles and discover, often painfully, that optimizing their own function can bankrupt the entire business.  Together, they explore why silos are the root cause of supply chain underperformance, how the human behaviors of students and C-suite executives are remarkably similar when placed in simulation environments, why sustainability thinking only takes hold when every decision is linked to impact metrics, and how Inchainge's new AI tutor responds like a teacher (with more questions, not answers) rather than a chatbot. Rada closes with a challenge to every supply chain leader: stop saving the day, start solving the problem.  **Chapter Markers:**  0:00 Introduction: simulation as the missing layer in supply chain talent  0:24 Meet Rada Lazarova: from Bulgaria to Wisconsin to Inchainge  1:29 Why traditional supply chain education falls short  2:21 Inside the simulation: VP-level roles, cross-functional decisions, and sandbox failure  3:58 The power of going bankrupt with no consequences  4:33 Context engineering in the age of AI and automation  5:08 Silos as root cause: how one client restructured their KPI system after training  5:57 40% of the world's top 100 manufacturers: students vs. executives in the simulation  8:06 Recovery in a simulation vs. recovery in the real world  8:26 New AI and circularity capabilities on the Inchainge platform  9:12 The sustainability hands-up moment: before and after the simulation  11:00 Circular metrics: return on material, circularity of inputs, alternative revenue models  11:52 The AI tutor: why it asks questions instead of giving answers  13:35 Rapid fire: the biggest misconception about supply chain talent today  14:18 What every supply chain leader should unlearn  15:29 Rotate, explore, get your hands dirty: career advice  15:39 What excites Rada most about the next five years of supply chain education  **Key Topics:**   Supply chain talent development, simulation-based learning, experiential learning, Inchainge, The Fresh Connection, The Blue Connection, supply chain skills gap, cross-functional KPIs, silo breaking, supply chain education, AI in education, circularity simulation, supply chain sustainability training, core skills, context engineering, supply chain gamification, workforce development  **Connect and Learn More:**  Rada Lazarova: [linkedin.com/in/radalazarova](linkedin.com/in/radalazarova)  Inchainge: [inchainge.com](inchainge.com%C2%A0)  The Fresh Connection (supply chain simulation): [inchainge.com/learning-solutions](inchainge.com/learning-solutions%C2%A0)  The Blue Connection (circular economy simulation): inchainge.com/learning-solutions  Sheri Hinish (Supply Chain Queen): [supplychainqueen.com](supplychainqueen.com)