New joint venture to provide common parts sourcing for aerospace firms

A new joint venture in the Aerospace industry could change the way that suppliers and OEMs work together by reducing costs, saving time and removing supply chain inefficiencies via the use of Internet-based software that claims to, “optimise the sourcing of common aircraft components.” The new joint venture company, Wesupply Aerospace, is a strategic partnership between supply chain event management software supplier, WeSupply and European aircraft component supplier, Umeco Components. The announcement was made at last month’s Farnborough Air Show. Behind the new partnership is a common industry product coding database which will enable OEMs to perform parametric searches via the web to show where identical or similar hardware and components are being manufactured and supplied. And that’s not all. The software also shows industry usage and how much stock is currently available at all locations in the supply network. Paul Heaven, md at WeSupply, explains: “It allows OEMs to locate parts quickly and easily, whilst allowing design engineers and specialist buyers to make the most cost effective decisions on which component to use for a particular product.” As well as improving visibility of product, demand and stock, Wesupply Aerospace also participates in the fulfilment process, monitoring the day-to-day activity, alerting supply chain members to material changes, predicting errors or omissions, managing exceptions and suggesting corrective actions. And all you need is a standard web browser. “The system gives users 24/7 access to critical supply chain information,” says Heaven. “Customers are given complete control of business processes, allowing them to configure business rules for their suppliers and ensuring 100% compliance with their model of best practice.” Umeco is a £300m turnover business that supplies the aerospace industry with C-class components (ie less than £10 each) such as fasteners. As well as being a manufacturer and distributor of parts, Umeco also provides outsourced procurement and inventory management services to more than 25 aerospace clients at present. The new venture will simply add to its already strong product and services portfolio. Heaven: “Initially, we’re looking to sign up between 800 and 900 aerospace suppliers to the new [subscription-based] service. They can pay as little as £150 per month to have their supplier details and stock status placed on the database.”