If you’re a Dash 8 operator, aircraft MRO, or lessor, this post is for you.
This is your go-to resource for the current major Dash 8 components we have available now or in the near term.
Bookmark this page as it’ll be updated often.
Do you have surplus aircraft part inventory?
This unnecessary buildup occurs when you order inventory in preparation for near term consumption.
When that consumption never occurs. Voila! Surplus inventory builds up.
Here’s the impact that this causes to your operation.
It’s not the price you pay, how business savvy you are, or how excellent your negotiation skills are. This is the MOST IMPORTANT skill you need when purchasing aircraft parts.
Your surplus aircraft material was sitting. Rotting. Wasting away on your shelves.
Slowly eating away at your operational results. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
Cash was being sucked down the surplus drain. And the only thing you could do was…
Price. How important is it to you? How often do you try and get the lowest price? I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “It’s incredibly important.” and “Every chance I get.” And that’s fair. It’s also common to ask how much something costs. Or to reduce the cost of something. We often use price and cost interchangeably. That’s a mistake.
Have you been AOG for bolts? What about bearings and wire?
You live in a world where fast paced and stress is how you get things done.
And since your product is flying close to the speed of sound, fast paced is an understatement.
Grounded aircraft and poor planning are a sure shot to lose money.
I’ve been fortunate to be a part of hundreds, if not thousands of maintenance check projects.
Over the years, I’ve noticed a trend. During the maintenance project, there’s always panicked emails and phone calls. Half of the calls are for material that should have been pre-planned.
It’s guaranteed. It’ll happen. Maybe even today.
Maintenance teams wait too long to purchase the material they need. So when they do purchase, they’re in a frantic rush.
How do you decide on the grease for aircraft wheel bearings?
I recently read an article about how some people, cough-cough, not you, were using automotive grease. From a cost standpoint, this was a great idea. It was cheap! But any old grease will not do.
You want something reliable.
Something that prolongs the use of your assets. And doesn’t cause "you know what" to hit the fan (it rhymes with fit). I’ve seen a lot of questions asking "what type of aircraft wheel bearing grease should maintenance teams use?", so here’s a quick little guide to help you.
The email hits your inbox.
You glance at the subject line and it reads “Need ASAP for XTY-123.”
Maintenance is requesting material for this week’s project.
You anxiously open the document.
It’s expendable and consumable material:
The request is 100 line items.
Some items you’ve never purchased, while others are high volume for you but your inventory level does not meet this maintenance need.
And it’s not that you haven’t done this before.
It’s just damn difficult.
Expendables and consumables. The inglorious material that gives you a headache.
You know the feeling. You get a 100 part requirement. Or 200. Or 1,000. And your head wants to explode.
Are you purchasing aircraft material daily?
Like most airlines and MROs, it is important to complete projects, keep aircraft in the air and make money.
But what if, everything you thought about purchasing was costing you more money? The money you didn’t know was seeping through the cracks as hidden operational expenses. Money not on the POs you send, but hidden in everything that surrounds the PO.
Your new requisition order comes in. You need to procure 1,000 aircraft parts. You look down at your screen and want to explode. You become stressed. You wonder how you and your team will get it done on time and on budget (a realistic budget that is). As you look at the list, you notice a mix of rotables, expendables, and consumables. Now, it’s even more complicated. What are you to do? How are you going to get this done?
Having an AOG during Hajj is an expensive proposition. Over 2 million Muslims from 183 countries will descend on Mecca and the surrounding areas. Airlines from all over the world are hired to help achieve this logistical feat.
Your aircraft, the material and people who support it, and your entire supply chain must be ready for the spike in traffic. Looking at the big picture, having important conversations and planning are crucial to successful passenger transport during this yearly pilgrimage.
You're going nuts. You spend a ton of time processing, organizing and following up with aircraft material purchases. It's all you do...all day long. It's time consuming. It costs money. It's not efficient. Yet, it has to get done.
So what are you going to do? The first thing is to take a step back. Look at the big picture. What’s your biggest underlying problem? Most airlines and MROs get so caught up in what they have to do or what they have to resolve in the day and they forget the most important part of their operation…efficiency.
Your aircraft expendable inventory is like a child’s bedroom. Messy and out of control. You have stock on what you don’t need and you’re AOG for items you should have planned for. It’s a mess. You’re frustrated that time and money is wasted. All you want is for the craziness to stop. You want to stock the things you need and plan for the rest. And this is where aircraft inventory management plays a big role.
What you need, is vendor managed inventory. It’s an aircraft expendable dream. Have what you want and only consume what you need. Once you hit a minimum stock level, an automatic shipment of replacements is sent to you. Easy! But how do you decide if it’s right for you?
