Aircraft Hardware West Expands Vendor Managed Inventory Services Nationally with Multi-Year Unilode Aviation Solutions VMI Contract
Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Unilode Aviation Solutions manages the world’s largest outsourced fleet of ULDs and owns the largest global network for the maintenance and repair of containers, pallets and inflight foodservice equipment. Aircraft Hardware West (AHW) entered a multi-location/multi-year vendor managed inventory (VMI) hardware logistics, provisioning, and delivery program. Powered by AHW’s state-of-the-art VMI operating platform, Unilode can now eliminate the costs of in-scope hardware while maintaining physical demand levels on-site which are required to support repair and production areas in their facilities. The service has been set-up at Unilode in Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Chicago (ORD), Houston, (IAH), and Hawaii (HNL), with the following locations expected in 2020: New York (JFK), New Jersey (EWR), Cincinnati (CVG), Dulles (IAD), Miami (MIA), and Santiago Chile (SCL).
Bobby Arranaga, Director of Service Delivery and Program Manager for the deployment of this solution states “It was easy for Unilode to see the value in this solution with AHW setting-up the physical infrastructure, technology, and processes at no cost to Unilode. The ownership of hardware does not transfer to Unilode until it is consumed. This means there is no cost of inventory ownership to Unilode until they use it on the production line”. Bobby goes on to say “The process is completely integrated with AHW’s global ERP system and interactive Web Portal and items are billed against a blanket PO. This simplifies logistics tremendously.” The AHW Web Portal technologies allow Unilode to see inventories in every station in real-time, along with billed transaction data from each station including manufacturer trace certifications available for download.
Krista Wildermuth, Director of Operation says “The value of this type of delivery model goes well beyond the competitive cost of the parts and simplicity of use. The major differentiator is in our ability to monitor usage and demand through our advanced analytics embedded into the web portal. With that data, we can maintain a minimum and maximum level of part quantities to assure zero stock-outs which translates to zero production line stoppages. Many of our customers quantify this value as much greater than the inventory cost of ownership or just favorable pricing”. Krista continues to say “Unilode manages over 140,000 ULDs for more than 45 airlines across 480 airports globally, spanning America’s, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Unilode completes over 450,000 repair orders annually in 50 services stations, 34 of which are owned by Unilode. This contract expands AHW customer base and supports AHW’s plans for expanding its network of warehouses. These are truly exciting times for AHW”.
Aircraft Hardware West is a full-service provider of hardware and related services to the aircraft and commercial industries with main HQs in Long Beach, CA. Aircraft Hardware West believes that a comprehensive inventory management solution and timely delivery of hardware, at competitive pricing, are only the beginning of what they have to offer. AHW can be a trusted partner in the success of your business. For more information on any of our products or our Advanced Inventory Management Solutions, please contact [email protected]