Discover three masterful approaches to revolutionize your material planning, ensuring unstoppable reliability in aircraft maintenance.
3 Masterful Approaches to Improve Material Planning for Unstoppable Aircraft Maintenance Reliability
5 Types Of Aircraft Grease That Covers 90% Of All Your Grease Needs
Have you ever been AOG for grease?
You may be sitting across from this screen laughing, but I’ve seen it. Seriously!
One of our team members get’s a frantic call. The client panicking.
We’re “AOG” for grease -he clamored. You could tell by his voice someone made a big mistake. He was having to pay for it. They ran out of aircraft grease and didn’t replenish. Whoops!
Ask an Expert: How to Manage Your Supply Chain Efficiently with Ryan Coyne, U.S. Air Force Chief Logistics Operations
The time has come where we "Ask an Expert" questions that you all have been eager to have answered. We interviewed Ryan Coyne who is the Chief of Logistics Operations for the United States Air Force. To put it simply, he’s no joke. With a $17.5 billion dollar supply chain under his belt, we would say he knows a thing or two about managing supply chain & logistics.
Ryan leads a team of 25 who span supply chain, transportation, planning and QA professionals. If that wasn’t enough, he oversees sustainment solutions for 4500 aircraft and 1.8 million vehicles and equipment assets all over the world.
Without any more hesitation, let’s see what this supply champ has got to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLGoQFgOBKo
The discussion begins at 3:03 with Ryan sharing his responsibilities as the core logistics readiness officer and we quickly learn that he has been involved in supply chain for about 19½ years. That's almost 2 decades of knowing all there is to know about supply chain.
Ryan explains to us that although his team moves parts around the world they deal more with the end user. Due to the fact that he deals with maintenance group providers to even customer complaints, Ryan considers his work on the retail side of things.
Efficiency in your Supply Chain
We asked Ryan how he stays organized with such volume and at 10:02 he explains the organization of his wing and compares the ease of their system to Amazon. Below him is a wing of 25 staffers that work with 3 major commodities, which are aircraft parts, petroleum, and equipment items & parts for vehicles.
[Tweet "Effective communication is crucial to a successful supply chain"]
His staff of 25 has 3 groups below them of 100-200 folks a piece. Each team has a different role or specialty.
From their $17.5 billion dollar supply chain, $8-9 billion alone comes from aircraft parts. Ryan and his wing goes through about 5½ million customer transactions a month. That's more transactions than most companies receive in a year.
Ryan stresses the importance of taking advantage of demand patterns. Due to the fact that his wing can move inventory back and forth they skip the step of asking retail teams and do it themselves.
At 14:03 Ryan shares with us the importance of communication within his team and how having an enterprise view of their supply chain has worked for them.
Leadership & Motivation
Leadership
Lastly we discussed with Ryan what he believes makes a good leader. At 20:49 Ryan shares that he looked to his coaches back in high school for leadership skills.
"I've never given an order in my entire career and I've been a commander 3 times. You know it's more of a collaboration, a coaching effort, constant huddles, making sure we have a consensus before we move forward." - Ryan Coyne
Ryan believes that if you aren't leading by coaching and collaborating then you will lose trust and your staff will do things because they have to and not because they want to.
He then goes on to explain that a leader must give people a chance to learn new skills, treat their staff calmly, with dignity, and look out for them.
At 26:45 Ryan adds that when it comes to motivating the younger generations a good leader must ask a lot of questions leading them to getting the right answer. This way they learn on their own and their time is protected.
In his line of work they don't receive bonuses but as a leader when you give associates back time, that's a bonus worth gold.
And The Best Solution For A Stress Free You Is...
I'm sure you're running around right now, stressed out, frustrated because nothing seems streamlined. You feel like a chaotic mess and each day seems the same. This is far too common and just recently I experienced this as well.
We procured 2 indicators for a project we were finishing. The lead time was "supposed" to be 3 days, but 3 days turned in to 7. Our supplier then shipped one indicator saying the other unit was "BER."
They sent a replacement unit to the shop but 2 days turned into 4. During the repair of the second unit they began to screen our calls, ignore our emails and avoid responding back to our update requests.
Is this any way to do business?
I think not, which is why Skylink has created a streamlined distribution strategy to limit these encounters.
Why limiting stress should be important to you
The side effects of you running around stressed might not be so apparent, but it impacts you greatly.
If you're constantly stressed your sleep will suffer, your health will deteriorate and your rational thinking will begin to decline.
Now, I may not have to explain this in great detail but these side effects can be impacting your bottom line.
You become less productive which results in more time doing the same tasks, decreasing efficiency. Your rational thinking then declines so you may choose an unapproved vendor to procure from. This then leads to quality assurance issues and / or canceled orders, losing time and money.
You see, creating ways to limit your stress level will help you become more productive. It will also allow you to work with reliable people since they tend to not put so much stress on you.
A few of our tricks that kick stress to the curb
There are 2 major ways to limits your stress. The first way is to focus on small daily wins. The second is to push your stress onto your supplier and Just In Time inventory for aircraft maintenance planning will do just that.
Small ways to limit stress:
- Get up every 50 minutes.
- Stand-up while discussing an issue over the phone.
- Take deep breaths.
- Get good sleep.
The best solution to limit stress is to use Just In Time inventory for aircraft maintenance planning.
This strategy reduces unreliable suppliers which can be a major factor in your stress level. You get to work with people who actually care about you and your operation.
They will take on the stress you had to worry about and you can focus on profit generating activities. Plus this is what your supplier is supposed to do. They deal with this day in and day out and should be able to leverage economies of scale.
You'll experience less stress because there will be:
- No more logistical headaches.
- No more following up and not getting anywhere.
- An increase in time.
- An increase in communication with supplier.
- No more you being pulled in 100 directions.
I know from experience that stress is a daily occurrence for you. I experience it as well.
However, by adopting certain strategies and relying on trustworthy people, your stress can nearly be eliminated.
By using the small strategies discussed and Just In Time inventory for aircraft maintenance planning you'll be on the right track.
Focus on you and you'll see your bottom line begin to expand.
P.S. Ask about our chaotic distribution diagram by clicking here. You'll see the difference between your operation and a streamlined distribution strategy.
Have you experienced a stressful encounter today? Tell me about it below.
Why A Last Minute Delivery System Can Save You Thousands
Have you ever heard of the dust thief? This thief is born in your warehouse and waits for the right time to attack. He attacks slowly, without notice. He waits for you to turn away and strikes without notice.
When you first purchase expendables for your aircraft maintenance needs, the thief is born. Maybe something changed where you no longer need the material you procured. After several months the thief gets older and begins to steal the cash value of your inventory.
The longer your inventory sits on the shelf, the more money you spend having to maintain it.
Nobody want's this dust thief in their warehouse, me included.
The less you spend on items that could be stowed away for years the more you'll have to fund your operations.
Now who wouldn't want more of that?
JIT Inventory, The Money Saver
Now imagine getting rid of all your unwanted, unused surplus material. You would free up inventory space for the components that matter most, free up staff having to maintain the unused surplus and reduce your holding costs.
The Just In Time inventory concept allows you to receive expendables as you need them. Since you'll be consuming the material immediately, you'll save thousands on unwarranted spending. Here are the 3 major ways you save:
1. Frees Up Your Inventory - If you have unwanted material taking up space then you'll either have to find additional space for new material or get rid of the excess. If you didn't have excess material taking up space you could down size your warehouse and save thousands on lease payments, mortgages and / or building maintenance costs.
2. Minimize Holding Cost - When you really sit down and think about it, how much does your unused material cost you? Think of the rent for the required space; equipment, materials, and labor to operate the space; insurance; security; interest on money invested in the inventory and space, and other direct expenses. Holding cost adds up doesn't it?
3. Eliminate waste - Now this can be the most troubling because the dust thief takes your expendables and literally throws them in the trash. Once your life limited expendables and consumables reach their expiration point, they're done. Wasted. The same goes for obsolete components. Once the manufacture comes out with an upgrade, the component is no longer of value to you, even on your shelf.
Managing inventory consumption is a strategy that can save you thousands if done right. Stock the important stuff and take in the expendables and consumables as you need them. The best way to do this is to utilize a JIT inventory system backed by the support of your competent suppliers.
P.S. Would you like to discuss the JIT solution we have ready for you? Click here
Why Just In Time Inventory Is Right For You
In a world of torque wrenches and bolts the relationship between aircraft maintenance planning and suppliers is becoming more important by the day.
In the not so distant past we were managing a client's heavy check. In the middle of the project we were requested to supply the expendables for the entire project. This was in addition to the rotables we were already managing. Now, as you know, nothing ever goes entirely as planned. We scrambled, stressed and got the job done but situations like this make the planning process paramount to successful aircraft maintenance check projects.
Last minute procurement and poor forecasting can be costly. It costs more money and time, both being scarce.
The solution to this madness is the Just In Time (JIT) inventory concept.
JIT is a production strategy where you can improve your organization's bottom line by minimizing in-process inventory and carrying costs.
Have you ever thought about the total cost of waste on your shelves because you bought too much material or they're now obsolete or expired?
Just In Time inventory for your expendable needs
Raw materials, such as expendables and consumables, are an integral part of your maintenance processes but they can be costly sitting on the shelf at undesired times. Or even worse, you don't have enough spares available for your maintenance needs. You then have to procure your expendable needs on an AOG basis, increasing cost, stress and the time you spend on the project. Both scenarios are bad.
Just In Time inventory is a strategy you may want to consider to have the raw material available only when you need it. The material arrives and is immediately consumed by your maintenance needs. Reducing inventory and processing time.
Benefits of a JIT system
A buffer of inventory can be extremely comforting but it's also very costly. Once you start holding excess expendables in inventory you begin locking away cash needlessly. These items can be lost, damaged or become obsolete over years of unnecessary storage. They occupy valuable space that you could further use towards your operation.
One of the greatest benefits of the JIT system is it allows you to carry low inventory. You receive the material as you need it, just in time. There's no need to write off large inventories. You consume it when you need it, skipping the inventory process.
Another benefit of a JIT system is the reduction of waste. If material goes beyond its expiration date, corrodes or becomes unusable the cost of material rises. By eliminating waste you control cost.
A third key benefit to the JIT process is high quality production. Since you'll only be dealing with suppliers whom you trust, they will understand your needs and make sure quality is of utmost importance. This will eliminate rejected parts through your quality control process and quicker consumption rates for your aircraft maintenance planning.
JIT, stakeholder relationships and aircraft maintenance planning
The Just In Time inventory strategy is useless without a strong relationship with your supply chain. Providing your suppliers with material consumption forecasts and what you expect from them is crucial to a successful JIT relationship. By tapping into your suppliers to fulfill needs that could cost you millions is an ideal scenario.
This entire process is an evolution of change. As you begin to work with suppliers through you JIT strategy improvements will be made and cooperation will become tighter.
Aircraft maintenance planning can be costly but unnecessary spending is avoidable. With excess inventory comes excess cost, so why not receive goods just in time for consumption? By tapping into strong relationships with your supplier you'll know what parts are needed, when they're needed and receive them as needed.
If you have out of control raw material costs, a JIT strategy may be exactly what's needed for your aircraft maintenance planning needs.
P.S. If you would like to discuss our Just In Time Inventory program, contact sales today.