Have you ever tried juggling the various demands of aircraft c-check?

You secretly whisper yes while you think of the dreadful memories.

The good news is you're not alone.

I worked with an aircraft maintenance customer who seemed to be living large under the umbrella of a large commercial airline.

With various Phds on staff to fine-tune their forecasting methods, things seemed under control, until...

Budgets began tightening.

Several layoffs occurred, and he was in charge of managing stores, organizing maintenance checks, and structuring a repair strategy.

There wasn't enough time to do it all. 

With a couple of Boeing 737-800 and A330 undergoing c-check, the stress was wearing on him. 

How was he going to figure out how to do it all?

His team didn't have time to do it all. 

From cutting POs, following-up on ROs, processing various orders, managing the aircraft maintenance company, and organizing ferry flights, there wasn't enough time in the day.

As his aircraft went through maintenance, he experienced delays with component supply. 

As more delays occurred, his team began falling further behind. 

Time became a more significant issue, so they spent more money expediting orders and increasing their initial maintenance expense.

Delays didn't diminish, and their c-checks were late, costing them thousands of dollars.

Distribution chaos

Aircraft distribution chaos has various projects with high ineffectiveness tying them together.

Aircraft c-check planning is the most crucial starting point. It's where you review and organize proper procurement and logistics plans. 

The aircraft maintenance facility can do the repair work. 

However, you'll still have to babysit them with many activities, especially if you're going to supply rotables and consumable piece parts to drive down repair costs.

Operations sending out mass RFQs is standard in the industry. Doing so is inefficient. It's also not cost-effective once you get beyond the ordering stage. 

Begin thinking of partners who can do most of the consolidations for you. 

These organizations can quote and process bulk orders for your c-check requirements and will help streamline your procurement process. 

You'll do less purchasing, following-up, and organizing logistics. 

You'll also reduce administrative costs.

After you have a procurement and logistics plan in place, don't wait until the last minute to make critical decisions. 

If you know, you'll need 20 rotables, then begin organizing the procurement. 

Problems always occur, so getting started quickly is vital.

The next step is to have several contingencies in place. 

Your aircraft component partner must follow this concept as well. 

Each rotable and consumable should have contingencies in case an issue arises. 

Items with no contingencies or long back up lead times must be noted.

It's impossible to do this all yourself. 

Even if you had a great supporting team, efficiency is brought on by utilizing and outsourcing activities to experts in their desired field. 

The last step is to put trust in your partners. 

If you've developed a relationship, you trust them, and they get things done, utilize them. 

It costs you more time and money doing it all on your own and making mistakes.

Have a "list" partner

When it comes to organizing your aircraft c-check, you know you'll need hundreds of rotables, expendables, and consumables. 

Sending RFQs to hundreds of suppliers, cutting POs, and having everything shipped from various sources all around the world is inefficient and ineffective. 

To get a clear picture of this, review how much your operation spends on order processing and shipping costs.

The best solution is relying on a trusted material partner who can effectively quote your RFQ "lists."

By lists, I mean you send them 100 parts you need, and they quote you 97% of that list. 

All you have to do is cut one PO and have one shipment.

They won't settle with quoting what's easy.

You may be hesitant at first, but if they're good, they'll be able to back this up with consistent reliability.

You want to work with partners who are knowledgeable, diligent, and approachable (even on the weekend).

Aircraft c-checks are a stressful time.

Outsource your material requirements to partners who can take handle the complete material distribution to your c-check project

They'll ensure you have a streamlined process and save you thousands of dollars on administrative and logistic expenses.

P.S. We support tens of thousands of parts every year for our airline client's c-checks. 

We quote all the material needed for the c-check project, consolidate the orders, and use our logistics service to ship the components to the aircraft MRO. 

Click here, and we'd be happy to discuss this more with you.