“You are the weakest link. Goodbye!” This dismissive phrase has been uttered many times by TV game show hosts on the quiz predicated on the notion that, overwhelmingly, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In the airline industry, being the weak link can cost considerable amounts of money when a part is not available. This is why parts suppliers, in particular, have used IT and logistics specialists to develop very sophisticated – and strong – supply chains to ensure that minimum equipment lists (MELs) are maintained reports Bernie Baldwin for LARA.

 

Read the full LARA article here or extracts of our insight below.

 

Mitigating AOG Risk

 

Another parts provider with a wealth of experience is AJW Group, which has built its own in-house inventory modelling programme, designed to optimise customers’ stock holding, reports the company’s Head of Solutions, Simon Merriott.

 

“The model mitigates AOG risk by separating critical components,” he says. “The programme can be configured to take into account a multitude of variables including locations, seasons, part criticality, vendor lead-times, and economic order quantities. It then calculates and sets the appropriate stock level while also including an inbuilt safety buffer to offset seasonal demand spikes. “This tool makes optimum use of predictive algorithms based on a combination of historical and forecast usage, combined with current inventory levels from both our customers and AJW’s ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. It supports the restocking of our customers’ consignment stock, ensuring spares availability that meets their operational requirements and reduces the risk of overstocking,” Merriott confirms.

 

Adapting with a new pulse

 

Recent IT innovations within the AJW Group to develop the supply chain are outlined by Sajedah Rustom, Chief Executive Officer of AJW Technique, the group’s MRO facility in Canada. “Over the past 12 months, we heightened the design and development of smart digital solutions for our entire structure – which is designed around supply chain process steps – to meet customers’ evolving needs,” she reports.

 

“We increased investment in customer-facing digitalisation, resulting in real-time monitoring dashboards and tracking tools, thereby making internal productivity fully transparent and, in turn, the customer experience seamlessly efficient from end to end. “We launched a responsive, interactive, and mobile customer portal, which enables 24-7-365 interaction with support teams, regardless of location, with no transaction delay, full data, and process integration,” Rustom continues. “We also released our new e-commerce platform, AJW eventory, for parts trading, where users can browse and purchase from our extensive inventory, including our ‘priced to move’ Outlet stock. The platform allows easy access to full paperwork trace, chat functionality, and the ability to ship via any chosen method and track the shipment in a few clicks.”

 

Read the full LARA article here >

 

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