Keith Mwanalushi of AviTrader MRO, spoke to AJW Group Chief Commercial Officer, Scott Symington and other in the MRO and component supply industry.

 

AJW’s Symington comments that the Group is constantly investing in inventory to meet the needs of its global customer base. The independent, industry-leader, has invested vast sums of on the hundreds of thousands of line items in its inventory, something very few market players can match. ‘That is the advantage of our scale and how we stay relevant in the market,’ says Symington.

 

Building strong relationships with OEMs and suppliers is important to navigating logistic challenges, he continues. The Group’s recent expansion of its global distributorship agreement with Honeywell is testament to this. This agreement gives AJW Group sole aftermarket distributorship for Honeywell Mechanical and Avionic Line Replacement Units (LRUs) fitted to current and new generation Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Symington adds, ‘We’re investing in our customers’ success by investing in parts.’

 

Tracey Downes, Head of Component Sales at APOC Aviation, states that the company is making efforts to free up cash currently tied up in assets in a move to make funds available for other investments. APOC, like others in the industry, is using AI-driven tools to predict customers’ maintenance needs.

 

AJW is diversifying its customer base, says Symington, ‘We drive a sophisticated pooling strategy with inventory placed purposefully around the globe, allowing easy access and distribution to our regional customers.’ The Group is embracing digital technology for improved stock management and finding solutions to logistics challenges.

 

‘Digital transformation has been a necessity and the most significant development brought about by supply chain disruptions. It has allowed us to streamline our procurement processes and operational efficiency,’ explains Symington.

 

UK-based AerFin is also investing in inventory to assist with turnaround time and servicing. Chief Strategy Officer at AerFin, Steven Ades, says the company has secured long term repair agreements giving it access to competitive repair rates and to protect its customers.

 

Michael Garcia, VP of Commercial at Kellstrom Aerospace, says the business is striving to stay ahead of market trends and consumer demands. ‘Effective communication with stakeholders leads to satisfied customers,’ he says.

 

On the other hand, President and CEO of Werner Aero, Mike Cazaz, affirms that Werner is not changing its investment strategy as it believes the supply chain disruptions are temporary but is focusing on planning and cost reductions in its operations.

 

Chris Hedien, VP of Supply Chain and Operations at Jet Parts Engineering, affirms what all in the industry are feeling, the pain of increasing costs. Patrick Markham, Vice President, HPG Technical Services at HEICO notes that the costs of component repairs are being driven by material costs and these costs are being passed on for repairs. He discusses the importance of keeping the cost and TATs of repairs stable and offers insight into PMA parts and DER repairs.

 

Symington notes the rising costs of labour due to shortages in the skilled workforce is causing labour inflation and this is impacting overall costing. ‘Our contracted services allow airlines to reduce the cost of capital for holding inventory and reduce the cost and cash flow of in-house repair management.’ While APOC’s Downes, says identifying current and future market needs is a means to tackle cost reduction.

 

Predicting parts supply as accurately as possible can be complex, especially in times of irregular demand in the market,’ says Mwanalushi. The article continues with insight into the need for historical data to fully feed predictive maintenance. The industry experts agree that for forecasting to be fully effective, the one needs to look at historical data, one cannot exist without the other.

 

Businesses differ in their strategic planning to deal with the fluctuating supply chain, using different business models to best meet their customers’ needs. AJW Group’s Montreal based MRO facility, AJW Technique, uses digital tools to better understand demand variation to predict future requirements, allowing them to allocate parts for future requirements well in advance.

 

Symington concludes explaining how Technique is using AI supported digital tools to construct a detailed forecast using a macro-level demand forecast at a component level, which is then fed to the supply chain team to ensure parts are provisioned as early as possible in the process. Using this information, the Group has achieved fill rates of 90% plus, allowing the team more time to focus on finding solutions to other issues that may arise.