Amount of Readily Available Inventory up from 50% to 80% Since Start of COVID Pandemic

SkySelect, a Silicon-Valley-based developer of the most advanced algorithmic purchasing system for aviation materials, analyzed its own purchasing data to spot new trends in the market. What was uncovered was a huge opportunity to leverage the availability of new and aftermarket parts. Airlines & MROs can eliminate large amounts of waste and drive savings directly to their bottom line. 

According to the data, while airlines are currently buying less, the amount of readily available inventory — in-stock or up to 7days lead time — has increased from 50% pre-COVID to close to 80% today. 

Inversely, the proportion of parts with greater lead times has dropped to only 20% of the available supply. 

“Lead times have historically been one of the greatest problems in the industry, leading to inflated inventories and delayed maintenance,” said Erkki Brakmann, CEO, SkySelect. “However, we are seeing that there is a  measurable change in the aftermarket landscape with an ever increasing amount of both factory new and used serviceable material becoming available. This is great news for airlines because now they can stock less, and save more, and in some cases deliver the part even quicker than transferring it internally.”

When looking at types of buying, even for routine demand, 60% of the material is readily available in the market. 

When looking at supply prices, more expensive material (over $10,000) is readily available more than 50% of the time.

“With so much inventory available, a great opportunity exists for airlines to drive savings through better deals,” said Brakmann. “By connecting one’s real-time demand with existing supply, the industry can more accurately and more quickly fulfill maintenance needs and eliminate a lot of the waste existing as excess inventory and related inefficiencies.”