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"Founded in 1972, SAP has a rich history of innovation and growth as a true industry leader. SAP currently has sales and development locations in more than
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Source : SAP
Study Pinpoints Areas of Growth for After-Market Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Initiatives
MAINTENANCE REPAIR OVERHAUL (MRO) is also known as :
Maintenance Repair Overhaul,
MRO,
Maintenance Software,
Service Repair Software,
Maintenance repair overhaul slip,
Software Repair Shops,
MRO Equipement,
Complex MRO,
Aircraft Maintenance Repair Overhaul,
Maintenance Repair Overhaul Contractors,
MRO Contractors,
Maintenance Repair Overhaul Equipment,
Maintenance Repair Overhaul Services,
MRO Services,
Troubleshoot repair small,
honeywell repair overhaul,
Complex Maintenance Repair Overhaul,
Maintenance Repair Overhaul Applications,
MRO Applications,
Component Overhaul Repair,
Popular maintenance repair overhaul,
Popular MRO,
Maintenance Repair Overhaul operations,
MRO Operations,
Maintenance Repair Overhaul Home,
MRO Home.
In February 2008 AVIATION WEEK conducted a research project concerning trends in
the Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul segment of the aerospace and defense industry.
Titled the AVIATION WEEK MRO Market Survey, the study sought input from a random
selection of corporate managers/executives, maintenance and overhaul leaders and
sales and marketing individuals in the MRO segment.
Of those responding to the survey, 27.9% represented commercial air transport ' or
airlines; an additional 16.7% represented third-party MRO operations. An additional
10.4% represented the original equipment manufacturers or prime contractors.
The findings of this study pointed to three primary trends:
- The transition toward outsourced MRO or non-organic MRO as a cost-saving
solution continues; 67% of the study respondents believe in-sourced
maintenance revenues over the next 24 months will be less than $100 million.
- Outsourced MRO is used most frequently in support of engine and component
repair versus heavy/airframe work; 44% of respondents plan to outsource engine
work in the coming 24 months while another 39.5% plan to outsource component
repairs.
- Ironically, 35% of respondents are using custom-in-house applications versus
standardized or off-the-shelf enterprise software tools to manage the flow of
MRO work across their business enterprise and the growing number of
outsourced MRO suppliers.
The study, which was commissioned by SAP in cooperation with Axon Solutions
Inc., found that most respondents believe there will be some re-settling of MRO
operations internally versus outsourcing during the coming five years. This could be
interpreted that there is a belief that some MRO operations do need to remain in the
ownership of the operator versus 100% outsourcing.
In addition, the study found that the top three trends impacting the MRO segment are:
- Outsourcing MRO 41%
- Aging aircraft 31%
- LEAN 28%
Outsourcing MRO has been seen as a cost-effective solution for flight operators
for a simple reason: it allows them to concentrate on the mission at hand ' be that the
transportation of people and cargo or a defense/security related mission. However, the
nugget is the rationalization of assets as a balance between in-sourcing and outsourcing is
established. As globalization of operations has increased for both commercial and
military flight assets, the establishment of centers of excellence or regional hubs for
consolidation of common work has increasingly gained attention.
With regard to aging aircraft, the issues are compounded by the increased
operational tempo undertaken by air transport and military assets. The air transport
industry has exhibited significant discipline in adding new aircraft. In the military world,
the aircraft fleets have operated at a tempo that at times exceeds specified requirements
by thousands of percentage points. Rather than flying 100 hours per year, the aircraft are
recording that number of hours in weeks. While this "burn" of lifecycle is unprecedented,
it should also be noted that the MRO operators face an increasing need to diagnose
situations on older aircraft that are operating beyond their contemplated life of 30 to 40
years. This brings in entirely new requirements with regard to structure and surfaces.
Finally, with regard to LEAN operations there has been a serious endeavor to instill
LEAN techniques and processes throughout the MRO world. Jon Newsome of SAP notes
that one of the shortcomings to date is the lack of an enterprise-wide approach to LEAN '
it is piecemeal versus end-to-end. "To truly leverage LEAN, a view of the end-to-end
process for MRO is necessary and actions within a single process must be evaluated
based on how they affect the end goals of providing repaired systems on time and at a
reasonable cost." Specifically, the military continues to drive toward commercial levels
for turnaround, cost per flight hour and reliability. Newsome points to additional survey
data indicating a need for software tools that enable this end-to-end evaluation, data
collection and analysis with the goal of continuous process improvement ' beyond the
initial LEAN application.
While these three trends ' outsourcing, aging aircraft and gaining the full advantage
of LEAN processes and techniques ' top the trends list, an additional four items should
be mentioned as well, as they exceed a 24% share of concern by respondents:
- improvements in maintenance planning
- utilization of performance- or outcome-based contracts
- globalization
- continuous improvement
In each of these instances, the application of consistent metrics and standardization of
tools and concepts seems a pre-eminent concern. Fully 81% of the respondents believe
information technology and standardization of technological tools to be very/somewhat
important to their strategy in addressing each of these trends.
While in-house and niche IT applications predominate the MRO sector, 68.,8% of the
respondents indicate they believe world-class enterprise business applications to be key
to their success, while another 80.8% believe that successful IT systems are a competitive
advantage in winning a significant share of the growing MRO market. The business areas
respondents believe would benefit most from quality IT systems include, in ranked order:
- Engineering, Maintenance Planning ad Scheduling 69%/
- Procurement/Supply Chain Integration 44.9%
- Management of spares 38.8%
- Component Repair 34.4 %
- Fleet Management 33.3 %
In general, the requirement to extend information and data efficacy through a global
network of MRO operations, to diagnose and recommend (based on past metrics) and to
continuously improve the cost and tempo profile are absolute requirements to compete in
the A&D MRO segment.
About SAP
SAP Americas is a subsidiary of
SAP AG, the world's largest business
software company and the third-
largest software supplier overall.
Founded in 1972 as Systems
Applications and Products in Data
Processing, SAP has a rich history of
innovation and growth that has made
us the recognized leader in providing
collaborative business solutions for all
types of industries -- in every major
market.
The company employs more than
38,400 people in more than 50
countries, and serves more than
43,000 customers worldwide. SAP
serves over 26 vertical industries
including Aerospace & Defense.
SAP Aerospace and Defense
solutions are helping companies to
control costs more closely, increase
quality, shorten time-to-market, and
improve the ability to reach customers
in an increasingly dynamic and
competitive market.
www.sap.com
About Axon Solutions, Inc.
Axon is a business transformation
consultancy that designs, implements
and supports solutions that address
complex business issues faced by
mid-size and large organizations who
have selected SAP as their strategic
enterprise platform.
Our Business Consulting group
helps to improve company
performance through delivery of a cost
reduction program, business process
improvement, shared service centers,
top-down information strategies,
executive coaching and leadership
development.
Our Solutions Implementation group
delivers business transformation
through the implementation of
enterprise applications such as SAP.
Our Applications Management group
ensures that the momentum of a
business transformation program is
maintained through the provision of
ongoing support and evolution
program.
www.axonglobal.com