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.
Inventory. It’s your best friend and worst enemy. Done right, it’ll give you what you want when you want it. Done wrong, it’ll waste time and money. Here are 11 common inventory mistakes you’re making and some tips to help you resolve them…
You can’t decide. Do you need a vendor consignment or a vendor managed inventory for your aircraft material? These terms get thrown around interchangeably but they’re actually quite different. We wouldn’t call a zebra a lion now would we? Let’s take a look at the relationship of these two inventory strategies…
Your aircraft is in the hangar. The clock is ticking. Tic. Toc. Tic. Toc. Each second that passes, your stress builds. It’s a lot of pressure. From the 50 - 150 rotables, expendables, and consumables you need to sourcing, processing, chasing, and tracking. It’s all on you. What are you going to do about it?
Inventory holding strategies haven’t changed much in the past 30 years. Airlines still cling to the ‘just-in-case’ mentality. And because of that, excessive inventory is costing airlines $10bn per year (21% of total inventory value).
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 need a change. What you’re doing isn’t working. Things aren’t getting better. You’re more stressed than ever and you want an idea that will give you more of what you need. Time.
But the real issue is what you’re going to do about it? A vendor managed inventory is a solution that will resolve a lot of your time and cost issues. And, it’s easy to implement. But first, let’s understand some of the issues it’ll help you resolve.
Do you purchase your aircraft material based on price? Of course you do. It seems logical. Many purchasing departments do. The better your price the happier you’ll be. But it doesn’t end up that way.
Price and cost are different. Price is the money coming in, or your direct cost. Cost is the money going out, through your aircraft materials life cycle. As a purchasing professional, it’s important to purchase for total cost of ownership (TCO). It’ll help drive down operational cost, make you and your team more efficient, and give you the opportunity to make good decisions.
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?
It’s common business knowledge that excess inventory is a liability, but it’s also common that you can’t sell what you don’t have. Traditional inventory management approaches force you to purchase excess inventory to pad yourself against stock-outs, causing you to carry excess. You literally have to decide what’s worse for your business: running out of inventory or carrying too much.
The aviation industry is a competitive market. Under massive pressures (economic & regulatory), airlines are increasingly looking at ways to reduce cost, improve efficiency and increase competitiveness. Aircraft component pooling is one way to just this.
