We'd all agree it's foolish to downplay strengths or ignore a competitive edge. The same goes for our economy. When it comes to creating jobs, attracting investment and encouraging business development, we have to exploit every advantage we have.

That's why the logistics industry represents such a compelling opportunity for Indiana. Our geography makes us a natural distribution hub, with two-thirds of the U.S. and Canadian populations within a day's truck drive of the state. We're strong in almost every mode of transportation, ranking first in interstate highway access, ninth in rail miles and among the top 15 in maritime shipping and air freight (driven by the nation's second-largest FedEx hub at Indianapolis International Airport).

Being the Crossroads of America puts us squarely in the midst of a logistics boom. Global supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, driven by developments such as e-commerce and "just in time" manufacturing. Domestic freight volume is expected to double by 2035. Logistics investment and jobs are growing accordingly; in Central Indiana, logistics employment is expected to expand 20 percent in the next five years.

But we can't rely just on our location and infrastructure and otherwise neglect a tremendous economic advantage. We have to play to our strengths.

That's why industry leaders, economic developers, elected officials and others attended the annual Indiana Logistics Summit Tuesday and Wednesday, hosted by the Ports of Indiana, Purdue University and Conexus Indiana. The summit was an opportunity to examine the state of the industry, evaluate promising opportunities and craft strategies for seizing them.

The logistics sector is increasingly innovative and high-tech. It takes sophisticated computer systems to manage global supply chains and advanced "track and trace" technologies to monitor the flow of shipments. These trends mean logistics jobs that require more education, greater technological savvy, critical thinking and project management abilities.

Indiana must build a work force prepared to take advantage of these opportunities. This means working with our partners in higher education to make sure their curricula are aligned with industry needs. The Indiana University Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis, for example, recently launched an undergraduate degree in supply-chain management, with courses that cover each aspect of the "plan, source, make and deliver" approach followed in the logistics industry.

Academic offerings such as this, including similar efforts at Purdue and vocational programs at Ivy Tech, are the foundation of a strong work force.

Many young people are unaware of the fast-growing, high-paying jobs in technology and other areas within the supply chain. At Conexus Indiana, we're planning a broad-based marketing and outreach campaign based on the Manufacturing Institute's "Dream It, Do It" program to educate Hoosiers on manufacturing and logistics careers.

The Logistics Summit was held to help Indiana play to an economic strength, and reap the benefits in new jobs and business opportunities.

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