Supply Chain Now: The Now Generation — Teaching Supply Chain with Simulations, Stories, and Systems

Date: February 23, 2026
Host: Scott Luton
Guests:

• Ryan Goodwin (Adjunct Professor at TCU, Senior Director of Supply Chain Technology & Innovation at Trinity Industries)
• Titus Fagan (TCU student, Accounting major with a minor in Energy Business)

Episode Overview

This episode of Supply Chain Now continues the “Now Generation” series, highlighting students and educators shaping today’s supply chain world. Scott Luton welcomes adjunct professor Ryan Goodwin and his student, Titus Fagan, to discuss the intersection of education, technology, and career readiness in supply chain management. With a unique focus on bringing real-world experience and simulation into academic programs, the conversation explores the role of AI, infrastructure challenges, cross-disciplinary learning, and preparing students for impactful careers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introducing the Panel & Personalities (03:06–08:27)

• Meet the Guests:
  • Ryan Goodwin: Adjunct supply chain professor at TCU and Senior Director at Trinity Industries. Also co-founder of Texas Tabletop Society, bringing board games to the community.
  • Titus Fagan: Third-year TCU student (Accounting major, Energy Business minor), expressing interest in supply chain via coursework.
• Icebreakers:
  • Titus enjoys weather forecasting as a hobby – “Forecasting rain and thunderstorms and snowstorms, it’s something that’s kind of gained some steam over the last four years” (04:31).
  • Titus recommends George’s in Waco for “chicken fried steak, good sweet tea, all the good southern food staples” (06:02).
  • Ryan shares about the Texas Tabletop Society and the value of analog, in-person gaming experiences especially with over 1,100 games in their collection (06:54).

Practitioner Experience in the Classroom (09:13–12:42)

• Ryan on Industry & Academia:
  • His work at Trinity Industries includes implementing AI-driven solutions, integrating supply chain, finance, and planning systems—“We are actually delivering those solutions…building applications that link those systems.” (09:13)
  • "Vibe coding": Enabling non-technical supply chain experts to use AI to build applications (10:27).
• Student View:
  • Titus values learning from practitioners: “It honestly transforms the classroom experience…they can actually add real life stories and experiences when they’re teaching the concepts in class.” (11:47)
  • Memorable case: class discussion on logistics for cruise ships, illuminating the complexity and multi-layered nature of supply chains.

AI as a Force Multiplier & Democratizer (13:54–19:45)

• AI’s Potential for Workers:
  • Ryan’s quote featured on a Times Square billboard:

    “AI isn’t replacing the American Dream. It’s finally making the dream real for workers in ways we’d never imagined.”

    • Ryan: “It really acts as a force multiplier. … Artificial intelligence…lowers the barrier to entry to where it's really whatever your imagination can think of, you can create using artificial intelligence.” (14:59)
    • Titus: “AI can really help educate people…lower those barriers to entry.” (13:54)
• Practical Examples:
  • Automating tasks like monthly freight reporting, freeing up time and improving accuracy.
  • Titus: “Now they’re enabling and empowering entry-level accountants to grow in their field much quicker and become much more proficient…which is only going to help the company and also, you know me as a professional to hopefully move up faster.” (18:45)
• Student Takeaways:
  • Automation eliminates tedious manual work, lets humans focus on critical thinking (18:02).
  • AI enables even non-tech professionals to build meaningful solutions through intuitive tools (14:48–14:59).

Tackling Supply Chain Bottlenecks and Infrastructure (20:13–27:31)

• Key Trend — Bottlenecks:
  • Titus: “The biggest one for me right now…is this concept of bottlenecks where you have all this supply, but because of the transportation, you can’t get that supply to where it needs to go.” (20:25)
• Energy Infrastructure Focus:
  • Transmission as a supply chain challenge—electricity, oil, gas, LNG.
  • Titus: “I’m really fascinated by the electric utility space…there are cases where you have the electricity…but because of transmission lines or too much traffic…they can’t get that power to where it needs to go.” (20:25)
• Public/Private Role:
  • Ryan: “If we love all the innovation that AI and modern technology offer, that should just add to our priority being placed on upgrading the infrastructure.” (21:41)
  • Discusses models for funding infrastructure and the necessity of joint corporate-government efforts (22:58).
  • Support for next-generation nuclear (Small Modular Reactors), as well as “world class infrastructure” in logistics and power (24:54; 27:31).

Student Aspirations & Change in Industry (28:36–32:57)

• Driving Change Through Technology:
  • Titus aims to bring added technological savviness to accounting and business:

    “The biggest thing I want to help bring to the accounting world is knowledge of how to use technology and data analytics.” (28:36)

  • Recognizes a generational role in adoption of new tools: “We’re going to rely on young people to help us understand these technologies.” (28:36)
• Leadership Styles For the Now Generation:
  • Ryan: “Whenever you’re looking at continuous improvement…there’s always a list of stuff to improve. If you’re ambitious enough to help improve the bottom line…we’ve got to harness and unleash that creativity and ambition.” (30:38)
  • Modern students want early impact and responsibility, not just hierarchical “paying dues” (30:38).

What the Now Generation Wants from Employers (33:52–36:15)

• Culture & Work Priorities:
  • Titus:

    “The biggest thing that I’m prioritizing is how fast are they going to throw me into the job?...We trust that you’ve had this knowledge…let’s put you in the deep end.” (33:52)

    • Values early hands-on learning, prefers a “failure = first attempt in learning” philosophy.
    • Strong emphasis on collaboration: “The best way to learn is working with others.” (33:52)
    • Insights from TCU’s semester-long supply chain simulation game: “All those positions…need to be able to work together for you to be successful…once you build out a good team, you all are propelled so much further.” (33:52)

Highlights of TCU’s Supply Chain Education Model (38:28–42:09)

• Success Factors:
  • Collaboration, simulation-based learning, and real-world application.
  • Titus:

    “Bringing people together and giving them a real-world application…that simulation experience is invaluable.” (38:28)

    • “The connection and the closeness between the professor and the student…teachers are also learning more in their field so they’re teaching the cutting edge to the now generation.” (38:28)
    • Success story: His team’s ROI turnaround in simulation—last to first, emphasizing resilience and teamwork.
• Cross-Disciplinary Readiness:
  • The learning culture’s broad perspective helps students relate business concepts across departments (40:52).

Lifelong Learning, Continuous Innovation & AI in Teaching (43:19–46:15)

• Faculty Perspective:
  • Ryan:

    “Everybody at TCU continues to learn…(the) class I’m teaching this semester after was different than the one before…because I learned so much from teaching his class.” (43:19)

    • Curriculum evolves rapidly—leverages new books and AI tools to update content and bring the latest concepts (e.g., “mastery of optionality under variability to move physical goods” as a new definition of supply chain) (43:19).
    • Encourages using AI in all walks of life and “having a blast doing it” (46:03).

Trade Shows & Networking (47:12–51:15)

• Getting Industry Exposure:
  • Titus hasn’t attended a trade show yet—but is encouraged to, given their educational and networking value across supply chain and fintech (47:12).
  • Ryan attends and speaks at major shows like Gartner Supply Chain Symposium, Manifest, and the American Supply Chain Summit (47:57).
• How to Connect:
  • Both prefer LinkedIn for networking, ask for reference to the podcast when reaching out (50:17, 51:15).

Notable Quotes

• On Learning from Practitioners:

  “It honestly transforms the classroom experience…they can actually add real life stories and experiences when they’re teaching concepts in class.”
  — Titus Fagan (11:47)

• On AI’s Role in the Workforce:

  “AI isn’t replacing the American Dream. It’s finally making the dream real for workers in ways we’d never imagined.”
  — Ryan Goodwin (as seen on Times Square, cited at 14:59)

• On What The Now Generation Wants From Work:

  “How fast are they going to throw me into the job?...Let’s put you in the deep end.”
  — Titus Fagan (33:52)

• On Team-Based Learning:

  “Once you build out a good team, you all are propelled so much further than if you were just by yourself.”
  — Titus Fagan (33:52)

• On The Role of Technology in Accounting:

  “Entry-level accountants…are empowered to grow in their field much quicker and become much more proficient...which is only going to help the company and me as a professional.”
  — Titus Fagan (18:45)

• On Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnerships:

  “Having a world class infrastructure I think is really important.”
  — Ryan Goodwin (24:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introducing Panel & Hobbies: 03:06–08:27
• Practitioner in the Classroom: 09:13–12:42
• AI as Force Multiplier: 13:54–19:45
• Global Supply Chain Bottlenecks & Energy: 20:13–27:31
• Student Change-Making Aspirations: 28:36–32:57
• Workplace Culture for New Hires: 33:52–36:15
• TCU’s Teaching Model & Collaboration: 38:28–42:09
• Continuous Learning & Evolving Curriculum: 43:19–46:15
• Networking & Trade Shows: 47:12–51:15

Memorable Moments

• Titus’s Weather Forecasting Hobby: An uncommon, data-driven interest tied to supply chain unpredictability (04:31).
• Simulation Game Story: Team rebounded from -36% to 30% ROI, underscoring applied learning and resilience (38:28).
• AI Coding Liberation: Non-technical workers building their own business apps via AI, making technology accessible to all experience levels (10:26–10:59).

Conclusion

Episode Takeaways:

• Real-world practitioner involvement and simulations radically transform supply chain education.
• The new generation demands early responsibility and collaborative cultures.
• Artificial Intelligence is a tool for democratizing opportunity, accelerating productivity, and reshaping both education and the workplace.
• Critical infrastructure, like energy transmission, is a bottleneck requiring cross-disciplinary, cross-sector solutions.
• The best academic programs — like TCU’s — foster active engagement, resilience, and prepare students to make system-level connections in their careers.

Calls to Action:

• Embrace simulation-based and cross-functional education.
• Experiment with AI, even as a skeptic, to reclaim time and spark creativity.
• Pursue networking — conferences and LinkedIn with context — to broaden horizons.

Prepared for the Supply Chain Now audience. For follow-up or guest connections, see the guests’ LinkedIn with podcast reference.