Tag: new

There is no doubt that the aviation industry has a great impact on the environment. Various Non-governmental organizations (NGO) worldwide are searching for the best ways to solve the issue of rapidly growing carbon dioxide emissions as the number of air passengers exceeds every forecast. And not just NGOs, as aircraft manufacturers are carefully designing new engines and other solutions to reduce carbon emissions. However, the movement towards eco-friendly aviation is barely scratching the surface of the issue despite the effort. So, what is happening in the industry towards the green flying initiative and what can actually be done on limited resources?

The biggest issues

Probably the biggest issue for green flying is the actual flying. People are constantly traveling by plane and it would be extremely difficult to persuade them that any other mean of transportation would be much more environmentally friendly. Mostly, because at this age time is money, and flying saves time. Besides that, travels by aircraft became a lot cheaper, especially with low-cost airlines when tickets for a vacation can cost as low as 10 euro per person. However, what is the real cost of so many flights?

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), at the moment around 4 billion passenger seats are sold in civilian airliners every year. Meaning that nearly half of our population flies every year. It is predicted that by 2036 the number will double. Every year the number of air passengers grows by 5 percent. The irony – everyone worldwide is talking about carbon emissions and searches for the ways to minimize it but flies more than any year before.

Of course, one might say that aviation is just a very small player in carbon emission environment and it would not be wrong. Only 2 percent of global carbon emissions belong to the aviation industry, however, these 2 percent convert to 859 million tons, which still is a great issue in the worldwide context.

What are the solutions?  

Some of the solutions to this ongoing and still rising issue are obvious. We should stop flying so frequently. But is it really a solution? Aircraft manufacturers are working daily to create engines that would use less aviation fuel and would be more efficient. However, knowing the aircraft fleet worldwide is not changing as soon as the new aircraft engines being released, these changes would not be implemented soon enough.

The other solution is to adapt current aircraft for biofuel. Some airlines are already flying with biofuel. In the past decade, aircraft are allowed to run with synthetic kerosene. ASTM International, the organization that sets standards on jet fuel, allowed having up to 50 percent of biofuel in jet tanks and by this day we already had around 143 thousand such flights. Yet again, this is an extremely small amount of scheduled flights as only in 2018 there were 39 million of them. There is also another issue being raised – if biofuel will be used, will there be an issue for food growing and using it for fuel rather than feeding people worldwide.

The most interesting suggestion is to use electricity instead of fuel. This solution is yet to be developed and is not used commonly at the moment. Only several test flight were done and most of them were on extremely small aircraft. Of course, using renewables is very appealing but the result at the moment is not satisfactory at all.

What else can be done?

It is really hard to say, what could be the universal truth for this rising issue. The development of new technologies will eventually serve to the purpose but at this time, it is best to adapt the older fleet to timely standards. The best way to do so is by upgrading the aircraft with spare parts that would help to minimize the consumption of jet fuel even in theoretical level. The reason behind this is that the fleet is not changing fast enough to be up to date with environmental standards and maybe even the smallest adaptations of the aircraft or its engines while working hand-in-hand with manufacturers and standardization organizations would benefit to the cause.

 “We understand that the aviation industry is changing very slowly. It is enormous and even the slightest changes to the aircraft mean a lot of finance. However, we must be flexible and responsible. There are many various regulations and new standards being developed every day. Even the smallest changes in the aircraft, physical or IT solutions, might change the efficiency of the aircraft and every player in the market should be willing to make their fleet as green as possible,” says Dainius Meilunas, CEO at Locatory.com, an aviation IT company, primarily acting as an aircraft parts locator.

With over 100 years of combined experience MidAmerican Aerospace has a wealth of experience. Their resources enable them to provide world class services in aftermarket spares solutions through aggressive procurement and active aircraft dismantling projects. Through their relationship with Locatory.com, both companies are continually searching for more effective streamline ways to improve productivity and exposure.

Josh Hall, A sales associate for MidAmerican, says “MidAmerican Aerospace is constantly researching the market to understand current demands. More importantly, we listen to our customers and do our best to understand their needs. We strive to become knowledgeable and resourceful with every part we supply. In addition, our management has brought together a team of honest hard working people and given them the tools and environment to succeed.”

For the last 10 months the relationship with Locatory.com has been instrumental in providing quality services to their customers and by opening up opportunities with new customers. By bridging the gap between MidAmerican, an aftermarket supplier, and customers across the world Locatory.com has helped MidAmerican make numerous connections in new markets where they have not directly worked in.

The future looks bright for increased cooperation as MidAmerican grows as a company. “MidAmerican will eventually supply parts for more aircraft applications and we will rely on Locatory.com to put us in contact with the interested companies/operators of that material. As new companies sign up we will be able to rely on Locatory.com to encourage the relationship. Lastly, we will rely on Locatory.com to help identify the sought after material customers are looking for,” says Josh Hall.

Locatory.com, a member of Avia Solutions Group family, is an aviation IT company which primarily acts as an aircraft parts locator. “Our goals are aimed at establishing a range of new relationships with the best, experienced, and most reliable aircraft spare parts trading business players around the globe and introduce them to Locatory.com  marketplace members who face the endless challenges of constantly finding, buying and shipping aircraft spare parts,” says Dainius Meilunas, CEO of Locatory.com.

“We are glad to have a beneficial relationship with experienced aftermarket supplier MidAmerican Aerospace, and we are confident that by continuing to be reliable and active, MidAmerican will be able to further accelerate their business expansion in untapped markets by continuing to provide quality services to the ever-growing network of our platform members around the world,” says Dainius Meilunas.

Aviation industry for most people associates with flights, airports and travels. However, the industry, whose recent revenue is yearly growing by almost 10% includes a lot of not visible businesses that keeps the aviation industry ongoing: aircraft maintenance (MRO), spare parts supply, ground handling, fuel distribution and many more. Since every single aircraft around the world has to go through a routine check before each single flight, it is of high importance for the airlines and maintenance organizations to have reliable partners for spare parts supply at any time of the day, 24/7.

“Trustworthy Airlines, that have intention to perform their flight on scheduled time, as well as maintenance  organizations that are willing to take qualified care of their client aircraft repair processes as fast as possible, need to have a constant access to spare parts stock and plan the correct amount of orders for specific aircraft maintenance. Reliability of spare parts provider is vitally important as well, while safety is undoubtably the most important thing in aviation,” says Yaoju Yu, Asia Development Manager at aircraft parts marketplace Locatory.com. “If the flights are delayed, passengers are late, and the airlines make their providers pay fines for the delays. All subjects are interconnected and at the end often depend on timely spare parts delivery time. However, new digital technologies and special artificial algorithms allows the maintenance providers to save bulk of time and find the needed parts for prompt aircraft maintenance 24/7, even in a native language”, adds specialist of the aircraft parts supply platform.

From the earlier times, when the Chinese market began to shift from individual point-to-point contact to each separate provider, brokerage companies only began to emerge. At this moment, China has hundreds of brokerage companies whose daily work is to mediate between the buyer and seller, as well as proceed to develop guanxi. It became uncomfortable but usual to request separate orders of aviation parts and components through trading intermediaries, who on the once side has chain of providers of use specific marketplaces, but deal with suppliers one-by-one, however on the other side, they arrange documents for customs, take care of dispatches and do other administrative work.

On average, only a process of assortment availability check may take up to 5 days, depending on the capabilities of the spare parts provider. Yet using modern online systems, it is no longer necessary to check or ask for each individual supplier’s range, while each needed spare part can be instantly found in stock online in real time. Besides that, the same platform can be used for a secure Escrow payment as well as customized dispatch services can be requested right here also.

Such a philosophy of convenience and affordability for different markets and needs is driven in the spare parts marketplace Locatory.com, which is probably the only company of this type that applied their platform for Chinese market and provide to the market additional functionality driven by Artificial Intelligence technologies. The abovementioned allows users to let the system automatically collect data and do the research even being mobile and off the platform.

Being a part of Avia Solutions Group, a global holding company for diverce aviation industry services and IT solutions, Locatory.com knows the newest trends of the industry and can adapt to them significantly fast. Due to this, the company continuously upgrades their system to Asian and worldwide regions` needs.

Though customers commits the platform as Aliexpress prototype in the aviation spare-parts market, the system throughout five years of activity has expanded widely and for the moment is working with the leading industry partners in China and the world, such as HNA Technic, Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines.

While casual routine is becoming much easier with innovative IT solutions and specified software it allows speeding up the pace of development of all the industries. Therefore, the expansion of IT market, usage of AI and virtual assistants penetrated even a very conservative and extremely structured aviation industry. All that allows one to forecast more of positive changes in this highly developing industry.

The world of aviation MRO is full of strict deadlines, vital decisions, and intense documentation. With a burden of accountability like that, MRO providers demand the very best tools to help make each step of their work as simple and straightforward as possible. To help those in the aviation MRO industry meet their profound needs, Locatory.com paired with some of the best base maintenance consultants in Europe to develop Sensus MRO, a web-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.

Sensus MRO was created as a branch off of Locatory.com’s Sensus Aero product line. Through extensive experience gained from a long history of working in the aviation sphere, the Sensus Aero product line was designed with the goal of providing highly tailored solutions for aviation businesses. Sensus MRO is one of those solutions. Its software is a unique module based system that is designed around the best practices in aircraft LEAN operations to make MRO processes more efficient with less human effort.

The advanced reporting engines within Sensus MRO facilitate better control and decision-making processes. The system collects data from all working hours spent on projects to furnish a detailed report of profitable and non-profitable hours and through the thorough analyses of expenditures provide accurate ROIs figures. The system also takes into account client needs by presenting important information in an easily accessible portal that clients can use to see data such as current project status, required approvals, and more. This feature allows MRO providers the opportunity to check how long it takes for a client to approve the purchase of required materials and monitor the impact of those times on TATs (Turn Around Time).

Sensus MRO can oversee projects to ensure that everything is on track and on time while regularly measuring performance. Budget corrections can also be made through the system according to the changes that happen during varying processes. Automatically generated invoicing data helps reduce the time it takes to bill clients and produces precise information for accounting software. All of this occurs while the system helps ensure the accuracy and reliability of information, provides project cost visibility, and efficiency in cost management. Continually monitoring the progress of projects allows for potential problems to be easily identified and corrective action to be taken immediately.

Along with Sensus MRO’s highly customizable module based system, MRO providers can also work with Locatory.com’s program developers to create individualized software systems that fit the specific needs of each company. Since Sensus MRO utilizes state-of-the-art cloud computing, the system is accessible from anywhere in the world and provides a great alternative for MRO organizations that want to keep up with the everchanging technology, but are not yet ready to commit to the replacement of their entire ERP system. Implementation is rapid and accurate allowing highly specific needs to be met for both small projects and full implementation.

With Sensus MRO, aviation professionals can achieve the best results in the fastest manner at the lowest cost while remaining competitive in a consolidating market. This system increases reaction times to customer needs and, in turn, can boost both profits and reputations through the elimination of non-value added activities.

Locatory.com, an IT company that provides an online marketplace for aircraft parts, has had the opportunity to virtually connect an expansive community of people inside the aviation industry through its platform. Since these connections take place online, the parties often never meet in person.  

Locatory.com has witnessed its many clients build and strengthen profound networks by attending events and exhibitions around the world. The company’s clients have found tremendous amounts of success by physically meeting potential partners, suppliers, and customers at events such as these.

From a logistical standpoint, it is well worth the time to visit one place (event) and meet several clients at one location instead of traveling to visit each client separately. Aviation events can help with broadening horizons and understanding cultural differences, vital aspects of doing business worldwide. These types of events can also provide a better understanding of the aviation community and culture. All of which helps create a stronger company image.

The aviation industry, in a sense, has a rather small community where everyone knows each other, and participation in the community is a must to be seen. By not showing up to at least a couple of events each year, the risk of being obscure and overlooked is high. Every event is an opportunity to make a lasting impression which benefits both service providers and clients. Meeting people/clients face-to-face, the same ones with which you communicate regularly over the phone or through emails could be the driving force which ends up making a sale. Even though it may seem like a small thing, meeting in person with someone could very well be the detail that strengthens a relationship to the point at which you are the provider they decide to use.

Sending the same people to each event is standard practice within the aviation world. Following this simple rule can increase the awareness of a company, and whether the company has a booth or not, the people will still recognize the individuals which could lead to productive meetings. It is also important to continue maintaining good relationships with previous clients. Even after a client chooses to stop doing business with your company for various reasons, they will always remember you upon sight which therefore may increase the chance of them recommending your company to other people.

Having a booth at events is essential if you aim at attracting new clients. When you have a booth, you are visible, and everyone knows they can stop by to pick up a business card. Without a booth, you might end up only meeting existing clients that already know you.

To gain traction in the industry, attending aviation MRO events in Europe, the Americas, and Asia is crucial. It is very common for clients to ask which events you will be at so that they can coordinate their trips in a manner that makes them as effective as possible.

Events

When it comes to deciding on which events to attend, globally there are many options from which to choose. The European AIR Convention, the ACPC event (in America), all Air Shows, the MAX air show (at the Zhukovsky International Airport), and MRO Russia & CIS are all very worthy of attendance if you are interested in any of those markets.

Aviation Week also hosts a number of conferences and exhibitions. Here is a list of their top MRO events.

• MRO Asia-Pacific
• MRO Latin America
• MRO Middle East
• MRO Southeast Asia
• MRO Americas
• MRO BEER
• ap&m Europe
• MRO Europe
• MRO Australasia

As an IT company with a vast amount of technical resources, Locatory.com has thrown around the idea of bringing everyone together through an online portal for virtual exhibitions. Could the aviation sector open the door to a whole new type of exhibitions?

In the fast-paced industry of aviation MRO, processes that increase job completion speeds, efficiency, or, even more notably, turn around times (TATs) are of the utmost importance. The aviation industry is full of regulations and any MRO service requires a vast number of certifications, signatures, and approvals. Digitalizing the massive amount of data that accompanies the approval of spare parts work speeds up the innovation and digitalization of the entire industry. Managing aviation projects manually causes both service providers and clients to miss deadlines and increase TAT times by digging for names, dates, or details that could easily be accessed in one system if a digital operating system was employed.

Locatory.com is deeply involved in the MRO industry and has made it a priority to help MRO organizations have better access to the information needed to help clients effectively. To accomplish this, Locatory.com has created the digital operating system Customer Portal MRO.

Why it is time to move to a digital operating system

Organizations across every sector, use computers and systems to help complete tasks, so it only makes sense to use them in the incredibly time and safety-sensitive MRO industry. In general, the aviation industry is conservative and slow at adapting to technological advancements when compared to other industries. Email, phone, and out-dated or complex systems are the most common methods of dealing with questions concerning spare parts, but these methods are not conducive of properly storing data, information can be easily misinterpreted or lost, and there is no way to document who is making or responsible for decisions. With MRO service providers dealing with more than 100 spare parts requests per email, it can be difficult to manage all of the information, but the digital operating system Customer Portal MRO displays organized information on one user-friendly screen. Emails get lost and details discussed can be forgotten, the Customer Portal MRO can prevent these mistakes.

Benefits

Preventing the loss of information is just one of the many benefits found in employing Locatory.com’s digital operating system. MRO organizations can work with clients to approve, cancel, or choose to deliver their own spare parts using the system. Clients can easily see which parts the MRO service provider suggests along with the cost and deadline for a decision. Information about selected parts can effortlessly be exported into Excel or PDF files. Explanations or comments can be left by both parties in the comment section. Information concerning all MRO service decisions and who made them can be quickly accessed.  Work order summaries, including the number of tasks in progress or completed, can be accessed by both the MRO service provider and client at any time. Last but not least, information such as the sales type, quantity, price, condition, certificate type, TAG date, incoterms, lead time, remarks, and alternative part numbers, are displayed for all assigned spare parts in the system.

Issues solved

Locatory.com’s Customer Portal MRO provides all the tools necessary to make the spare parts approval process simpler and more effective. Tasks become smooth for clients and service providers alike, as the Customer Portal MRO system eliminates misunderstandings and the need for additional paperwork.

The most complex challenge when implementing new technology is determining how to operate with legacy systems. If an MRO organization is already operating a system for other parts of the MRO process, Customer Portal MRO can be quickly and seamlessly integrated with other software services.

Innovation         

Locatory.com’s experience in the aviation MRO field has given them the expertise essential for creating a system that is specifically catered to the processes and tasks performed during aviation MRO. The system is not only convenient but necessary to meet deadlines and TAT goals.

By automating everyday tasks, Customer Portal MRO saves time and cuts operational costs. The ability to add and synchronize spare parts lists with a few clicks all the while giving client’s complete access to the information is an unheard of concept in the MRO space. By opening up to the client, in this manner, MRO service providers can help clients feel more reassured and have a clearer voice in ongoing work while saving time and money for both parties involved. Therefore, the system is convenient to use, especially when MRO service providers are working with long-term clients. With histories available, answers to any why, who, or when questions can be found in the system making project management much easier for everyone involved.