ThyssenKrupp Aerospace boosts inventory management

The move is part of a customer-led strategy which has already lead to a significant decrease in inventory levels and an increase in product availability.

The OPTIMIZA technology helps manage contracts with key customers including Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier. With the new collaborative partnership, ThyssenKrupp Aerospace and Barloworld take their cooperation to a new level: the software will be rolled out to all of ThyssenKrupp Aerospace’s locations worldwide and improved functionalities will jointly be developed.

“Increasingly, our customers are becoming more globalised and expect ambitious service standards, high levels of visibility and the right prices from their materials partners,” said Harald Meyer, CFO at ThyssenKrupp Aerospace. “For us, this means paying close attention to materials availability and ensuring on-time delivery using a minimal amount of inventory in order to optimise working capital.

“OPTIMIZA helps meet rising customer expectations by enabling us to forecast demand on a mid and short-term level. It also gives us visibility on supply chain trends that allows us to plan ahead with optimal stock levels. Crucially, because it is linked to our internal systems, it combines internal data with customer forecasts and supplier information, which helps to highlight material shortages and other short-term challenges and enables us to take action.”

“In the competitive global aerospace market, organisations need full visibility of product to ensure maximum availability of material to customers,” said Kevin Boake, MD at Barloworld Supply Chain Software.

“Rather than losing money by inflating inventories, rescheduling production or placing emergency orders, they need to stay one step ahead of customer demand. Our solutions integrate best-practice inventory management methodologies using world class decision support tools, enabling users to create and sustain inventory optimisation throughout the supply chain.”