Opening a new business: planning and strategy

Business Plan for Airline Inventory System

This is a business plan for an outsourcing company creating and maintaining an airline inventory system for airline parts and maintenance. This is a valuable and necessary service for all airlines, both public and private, because the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) requires maintenance and part inventories and records for all planes flying. These records help maintain the safety standard for the airline to FAA standards. The business will consist of a knowledgeable team of airline maintenance and IT personnel, who can develop a viable database, market the service, and maintain the parts and inventory systems for major to smaller airlines around the world.

The potential market for this type of outsourcing parts and maintenance business is growing everyday around the world. As more and more airlines begin to implement cost-cutting measures, the need for an outsourced inventory system is clear. As one Web Site, advertising a seminar in parts and maintenance inventory noted,

Aircraft maintenance has, in recent years, become an area of great interest and scrutiny. In order to remain cost effective in an increasingly competitive environment it is essential for airlines to dramatically decrease expenditure on maintenance overhead costs. One specific area that has raised a great deal of interest is the storage, process and management of aircraft inventory (SMI Conferences).

Outsourcing the parts and maintenance inventory frees up maintenance employees for other duties, and costs less for the airlines, because they do not need to pay benefits and wages to their own employees to maintain the parts and maintenance inventory. With the advent of data warehousing systems and data management software, the implications for outsourced, off-site inventory systems are clear. The data can be stored and accessed off-site, making it more secure, available 24 hours a day 365 days a year, and the airline does not need to maintain or store the system, all of that is provided as part of the outsourcing contract. The airline saves time, money, and valuable computer space, and the outsourcing company provides a valuable and much needed service to the airline. While there are several companies who specialize in airline parts and inventory systems, including the alliance between Boeing and KLM called the Global Airline Inventory Network, there are still opportunities available for smaller, less expensive alternatives in the outsourcing industry.

This business will be organized around a central Internet portal that allows customers to add their specific planes to their own customized database, and then track the parts and maintenance of each plane quickly and easily. The Web Site will also include general maintenance information, the most current FAA guidelines, and the ability to buy and track parts online. Each airline who is a member of the service will also be able to load their parts and maintenance inventory into the system, and track it at any time. If the airline wishes, our employees will upload and track the information for them, at a higher cost. The business staff will include the owner/operator as CEO, a Chief Financial Officer, a Marketing and Sales Director, a Director of Maintenance and Parts, an IT director, and a staff to create and maintain the databases and maintenance information.