Inventory Optimisation for Aerospace Industry

Aerospace Understood

In an increasingly competitive market place, product availability is crucial to ensure maximum availability of aircraft. Holding a large inventory of spares is often seen as the only way of allowing immediate response for AOG (Aircraft On Ground) or scheduled maintenance. With this in mind, Operators are becoming increasingly aware that logistical operations previously managed 'in house' can now be provided in a more cost effective and efficient manner by industry.

Historically, the management of aircraft availability has been the responsibility of the MOD or Airline Operator, however, in line with strategic objectives the transfer of this responsibility is being passed to primary suppliers capable of combining support and service contracts within allembracing integrated packages.

Maximising product availability by inflating inventories for spares and repairs within pool stocks positioned in satellite locations, rescheduling production or placing emergency orders only results in the erosion of profits. The solution to meeting this availability versus cost challenge lies in controlling the day to day replenishment of those line items which make up the product range.

A New Approach to Inventory Management

A change to the approach in the way in which spares are facilitated; moving away from make-to-order towards the provision of contract service availability.

• Provision of a single point of supply and to manage other materials suppliers as tier 2s.
• Build the capability to deliver such contract services and integrated logistics solutions through the use of sophisticated demand planning, inventory and network management and modelling tools.
• Optimize supply chains with very long lead times to ensure availability is in line with contract requirements.

Optimiza Inventory Management Software On Board

The unique appeal of the Optimiza software solution lies in our ability to enable organisations to integrate best-practice inventory management methodologies, using world class decision support tools, and thus create and sustain inventory optimisation throughout the supply chain.

By comparing current inventory management processes with best practice, and leveraging off the unprecedented visibility provided through Optimiza inventory management software, our customers have been able to highlight areas of weakness, allowing them to realign management processes, providing practical and effective solutions well suited to the support of both civil and military support contracts.

Our Customers Agree - AgustaWestland

Our fundamental decision to adopt the Optimiza Software was based on its ability to utilise both an event-driven system as well as a time based one. The repair business we are involved with is very low volume but at a very high inventory level. Optimiza's ability to incorporate factors such as bills of materials and expected programmes gave us a technique we were familiar with. This allowed us to rapidly incorporate export repairs which had previously been supported entirely separately.

One of the keys to supporting the proposed Integrated Operational Support (IOS) projects is constant monitoring of actual usage of parts supplied. Currently we are able to track sales but not usage. The Optimiza solution will control the replacement and supply of these parts with the aim of achieving the highest availability possible.

Gerry Morgan, Technical Provisioning Systems Manager, AgustaWestland