Renewed IMM partnership targets parts availability, inventory efficiency and maintenance readiness
Japan Airlines (JAL) has renewed its Integrated Materials Management (IMM) Services agreement with Boeing Global Services (BGS), extending a long-standing partnership focused on strengthening parts availability and supporting more efficient maintenance operations.
The agreement was announced during MRO Asia-Pacific 2026 in Singapore, where the two companies highlighted the role of integrated materials management in improving supply chain stability and reducing the risk of maintenance disruptions caused by parts shortages.
Under the IMM programme, Boeing takes on parts ownership and supply chain management responsibilities for JAL, providing the airline with access to a broader materials network while reducing the operational burden associated with managing and tracking inventory.
For airline maintenance operations, timely access to serviceable parts is a critical factor in controlling aircraft downtime. Through IMM, Boeing manages the supply of required parts for JAL, helping reduce the risk of aircraft-on-ground (AOG) events resulting from stockouts.
The programme also enables JAL to reduce the physical inventory it needs to own and manage across its operation. This can simplify materials management while allowing the airline to redirect resources towards other maintenance and operational priorities.
The renewed agreement therefore combines parts availability with inventory management, creating a more integrated approach to supporting JAL’s maintenance requirements.
A key element of the IMM model is the transfer of parts ownership and associated supply chain responsibilities to Boeing. For JAL, this reduces the working capital tied up in inventory and provides greater predictability around material costs. The approach can also reduce the administrative and operational workload involved in maintaining and tracking large inventories of aircraft parts.
According to JAL, guaranteed parts availability and a lower inventory burden are expected to contribute to greater operational reliability and efficiency.
“Renewing our agreement with Boeing for Integrated Materials Management Services is one of the key topics for improving parts supply capacity,” said Kyohei Takizawa, Vice President, Aircraft and Maintenance Procurement, Japan Airlines. “The guaranteed parts availability and reduced inventory burden directly translate into greater operational reliability and efficiency for our operations.”
Boeing’s IMM offering is designed to combine its global parts network and materials-management capabilities with customer-specific requirements.
For airlines, such arrangements can shift materials management from a largely inventory-driven model towards a more integrated supply solution, helping address parts availability while reducing exposure to inventory fluctuations.
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“Japan Airlines’ renewal of IMM reflects the value of a stable and resilient aviation supply chain,” said William Ampofo, Senior Vice President of Parts & Distribution and Supply Chain, Boeing Global Services. “Boeing’s global scale and materials management expertise help customers improve parts availability, reduce complexity, and support more predictable, efficient operations.”
The renewed agreement underlines the growing role of integrated materials services in airline MRO strategies, particularly as operators seek to improve aircraft availability while managing inventory, logistics and supply-chain costs more efficiently.
