hile the world continues to ride the coronavirus roller coaster, Indiana must find its foothold to alleviate the economic thrashing about powered by this unforeseen pandemic. I recently participated in the Indy Chamber’s Leadership Exchange (LEX) event and shared the following perspective on how we get the Hoosier state back in business.

Impact of COVID-19 on Economic Development

No industry has been left untouched by COVID-19, and economic development has certainly seen its share of upheaval. The cadence of projects we are working on has shifted, with timelines frequently extended by 90 to 120 days. In tandem with the trend of working remotely, the vast majority of project engagement is happening online, even extending to site visits themselves. For those in the manufacturing and distribution industries, an intensive review and often, multiple changes to their supply chain are at the forefront of challenges to solve. Other sectors are contending with rationalizing their office space footprint. Risk mitigation considerations include; consolidating facilities, moving away from densely populated areas, and keeping a portion of team members working remotely on a permanent basis.

Seismic Shifts in Industry Supply Chains

Even pre-pandemic, industry supply chains were transforming due to increased customer expectations and the need to serve the last mile of deliveries. The life sciences sector has dealt with some painful lessons related to PPE products, pharmaceutical ingredients, and key medical equipment not being readily accessible in our home country. Subsequently, in the past 90 days, we have seen more interest in reshoring and near-shoring the needs mentioned above, along with circuit boards and computer components, product assembly components, and household products. Looking at these needs, the Indianapolis MSA should be well-positioned for life sciences, assembly components and manufacturing products, and ready to take advantage of these opportunities. 

Read the rest of the article by Larry Gigerich on Inside Indiana Business with highlights covering:

• Seismic shifts in industry supply chains
• Positioning Indy as part of a higher value chain
• Critical considerations for talent attraction and retention
• Creating alignment between education and workforce development initiativesAccess the full story on the Inside Indiana Business website here: https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/42803159/how-the-indianapolis-region-can-stay-competitive-amid-covid19