Page 6 - MRO Business Today 15th April 2023 Latest Issue

FEATURE

Image Courtesy : ethiopean airlines

IMPORTANCE Challenges In Inventory Planning For

The Unforseen
Maintenance events can be planned
and scheduled and the demand for
OF MRO with certainty. Like a modification or
inventory can be somewhat forecasted
consumables required for an A – check.
Aviation MRO demand is mainly unpre-
INVENTORY dictable not knowing which components
are required when and where, on what
aircraft. Again, components have various
sub-sets that are repaired and re-used
and those planning must ensure that the
PLANNING parts are repaired and made serviceable
for reuse and available in sufficient num-
bers so as to meet anticipated demand.
Some of the challenges of MRO inven-
tory planning need to foresee and
overcome are the myriads of inventory
n industry analysis done in 2009 little or no use throughout the supply required for large- scale operations with
Abased on a study revealed that the chain. several carriers operating large num-
global MRO inventory held by the com- Inventory planning then needs intel- ber of airline fleet straddled across the
mercial aviation sector was USD 47 bil- ligent data analysis and systematic plan- globe. The MRO support and require-
lion, where the MRO supply chain spend ning. Importantly, investing in cutting ments need to be serviced by several
totalled USD 45.7 billion. edge technology to sift the grain from maintenance bases that hold thousands
That MRO supply chain spend, scaled the chaff so to speak, is the name of the of individual part numbers and compo-
up to USD 60.7 billion in 2013. This game. The resultant substantial savings nents.
indicated that components and material from holding realistic levels of inven- Demand for nearly 80% of parts is as
roughly accounted for 50% of a com- tory that is driven by demand planned uncertain as it gets, where MRO plan-
mercial airline’s direct MRO cost. and unplanned, and maintenance work, ners have to constantly forecast, some
Managing surplus inventory is a chal- is necessary for the very viability of the from historical data perhaps – what is
lenge for the industry, where more than business, where operational safety is needed where, for parts replacement.
40% of rotable inventory investment tied up with smart investments and effi- This is compounded further because
and 26 -35% of consumable invest- cient planning. Aviation particularly due each part may have a different demand
ment come under ‘active surplus.’ A part to its scale and complexity of opera- type like planned/unplanned/line and
is said to be active when required for tions, poses quite a challenge. base maintenance, as also AOG require-
operations, but the quantity held is in The objective is to reduce investment ments. Parts requirements for different
excess of the amount actually required. and spend in MRO inventory and at the fleet with different configurations make
However, quite aside of active surplus, same time have reliable parts avail- the inventory management process truly
there are substantial levels of inactive ability support that delivers service and mind-boggling.
surplus that can be termed obsolete with operational excellence. Criticality occurs, and at times drastic,

6 April 15, 2023 www.mrobusinesstoday.com