Aerospace & Defense Technology - December 2023 - 14

Data Acquisition
optimize working capital inventory and
make better-informed decisions.
Improving planning is another complex
but necessary step toward stabilizing
the A&D supply chain. To get there,
companies across the supply chain need
to arm themselves with capabilities that
give them a clearer understanding of
different planning parameters for batch
size, lead times and reorder quantities.
They also need the ability to flexibly
update those parameters on the fly in
response to changing conditions, so
production aligns with demand. Tools
that synthesize data from multiple
sources along the value chain to forecast
more reliably also can be helpful
in striking the right production and
inventory balance. Ultimately, companies
must be able to develop planning
strategies that enable them to tightly
manage inventory while accommodating
expected production ramp-ups.
While making significant progress
toward stabilizing the supply chain
will take work on a number of fronts,
there's one area that's especially ripe for
improvement. If the A&D industry can
find ways to evolve its supply chains so
they function as data-driven, digitally
connected and highly collaborative
business networks, that could go a long
way toward resolving many of the other
issues that are feeding the current supply
chain instability.
The vision here is to create supply networks
where OEMs and multiple tiers of
suppliers are willing and able collaborators,
with the digital capabilities - and
an adequate level of trust - in place to
share important data in a timely way, from
inventory levels to demand information
to production plans to potential disruptions.
By sharing their data in real time,
each member of the supply network would
essentially be working off a single source
of truth so they then can freely communicate
and collaborate to share risk, create
opportunities and resolve issues.
The concept isn't farfetched. In fact,
Due to supply chain bottlenecks, some of the biggest-name aircraft manufacturers are struggling to meet
all-time-high demand.
it's already being applied in industries
like automotive, with the European-focused
Catena-X consortium. Such a network
in the A&D world could be built
on trust, with data exchange standards,
sovereign control of data, cross-company
applications and the like to ensure
it runs smoothly, without participants
having to risk exposure of their competitively
sensitive data. The success of
Catena-X has led to discussions about
launching a similar ecosystem called
Manufacturing-X that would include
aerospace and defense.
These business networks could
become the catalyst to a wide range of
improvements that help to stabilize the
A&D supply chain, including:
1. Optimizing inventory for maximum
resilience. Using data from across the
supply chain, companies can develop
a clear, up-to-date picture of current
inventory, production and demand so
they can develop better-informed inventory
approaches that improve availability,
minimize stockouts and make more
efficient use of working capital.
2. Solidifying planning and forecasting.
The business network provides
the framework not only for more
on-point forecasting and planning by
individual companies using shared
demand and production data, but
also for joint planning among multiple
companies.
Sourcing components such as computer chips remains a challenge for aircraft OEMs.
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3. Optimizing transportation by collaborating
with logistics providers
to minimize potential disruption.
This could entail developing altermobilityengineeringtech.com
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - December 2023

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