Login / Register to access your benefits
Recently searched
    Strategic Thinking

    Strategic Thinking

    The benefits of a more strategic approach to MRO for buildings and facilities in the  aerospace and defence sector 

    According to the latest annual figures from ADS, the trade association for the UK aerospace, defence, security and space industries, the sector had a turnover of £82 billion and added £37 billion in value to the country’s economy. It employs 417,000 people directly and supports more than 20,000 apprentices.  

    At the same time, the sector faces significant challenges from an increasingly volatile and uncertain geopolitical context. This is on top of pressures that affect the whole economy, such as inflation and rising costs as well as increased risk and disruption in the supply chain.  

    Finding ways to mitigate these pressures is difficult when direct procurement is dominated by large long-term commitments such as orders for aircraft or even aircraft carriers. One area where organisations can exert greater control over costs and efficiency, however, is in the procurement of supplies for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) – including building maintenance.  

    Consider building maintenance
    “It’s easier to make the case for keeping tight control on MRO spend for plant and other operationally critical machines, but it’s just as important to look at MRO spend on buildings,” says Helen Alder, Head of Knowledge and Learning Development at the Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply (CIPS). “Many organisations have numerous large buildings and over the course of a year spend significant amounts on maintaining these. 

    “With buildings maintenance, it’s important to prioritise MRO requirements (either if you have an in-house facilities management team or it’s outsourced) so that critical areas, whether that’s lighting, plumbing or air conditioning etc, that might affect your overall operations can be serviced in a timely manner. This comes down to working with suppliers to identify key MRO products and ensuring you have a list of key suppliers that will be able to provide parts as and when you need them.” 

    In addition to these regularly purchased items, there are also a significant number of one-off purchases, points out Greg Sharp, Industry Sector Manager at RS. “Typically, we find that the overwhelming majority – maybe as high as 80% – of the items companies in this sector buy are one-off purchases,” he says. “As such, it’s crucial to look at the actual MRO process to ensure that it’s as streamlined and efficient as possible, otherwise hidden costs like the time it takes an employee to order each individual item really mount up.” 

    Choose the right suppliers
    As Sharp explains, it’s important to choose suppliers that understand the industry: “Within the sector there will often be many activities, which means organisations need access to suppliers that can provide a wide range of tools and parts. A drill for use on a building will not be fit for purpose for someone drilling a composite panel on an aeroplane, for example. So, there can be a need for very specialised tools alongside more generic ones. You need to work with a supplier that has expertise and understands the sector; someone who can bring a specialist supplier to the table, if need be.”

    You need to work with a supplier that has expertise and understands the aerospace and defence sector

    Greg Sharp, Industry Sector Manager, RS

    When it comes to buildings maintenance, the industry faces a number of challenges. As Sharp highlights: “A lot of the buildings in this sector are often quite old and some will be very large; there may be huge hangars, for example, and there may be a wide variety of buildings to maintain.” 

    Sites will often be technologically complex with the need for clean rooms or sterile environments or, say, wind tunnel testing units. In addition, if dangerous products – chemicals, fuels or armaments – are being used or tested, sites may also be geographically dispersed or remote. 

    Regardless of these challenges, aerospace and defence companies need to keep production uninterrupted, buildings in good working order and ensure that stock procurement, handling and storage are as efficient as possible. 

    Develop a strategic approach
    This is where taking a more strategic approach to MRO can pay dividends, suggests Sharp. By developing a proactive MRO strategy and adopting a structured approach to your supplier selection and management, you can consolidate your supply chain, improve automation (for example, through integrated eProcurement systems and electronic catalogues), gain a better picture of who is buying what, where and when (and whether they need to be) and potentially free up building space and working capital by reducing the amount of stock you are sitting on “just in case.”

    By putting a well-thought out, strategic MRO process in place for all buildings maintenance, it's likely it will have minimal impact on critical work

    Greg Sharp, Industry Sector Manager, RS

    “By putting a well-thought out, strategic MRO process in place for all buildings maintenance, it’s likely that both planned and unplanned work will have minimal impact on critical work,” says Sharp. “In addition, by working with a smaller group of trusted suppliers that have knowledge of the sector, it’s possible to get the right parts at the right time, first time.” 

    For more MRO insight, click here

    Contributors

    Helen Alder

    Helen Alder

    Head of Knowledge, The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply

    Helen has worked at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply for 20 years, specialising in sustainability in procurement and supply chains, electronic commerce, and purchasing and supply chain management.

    Greg Sharp

    Industry Sector Manager, RS

    Greg recently joined RS and leads the Transport and Defence sector corporate account team in the UK and Ireland. A qualified mechanical engineer and former council member for industry body, The European Power Transmission Distributors Association, prior to joining RS, Greg held senior sales and engineering roles at Tsubaki UK Power Transmission.

    You might also like...

    How to write a compelling business case

    Today, many companies expect managers to produce a business case to justify major purchases or investment requirements for new operational projects. But what should you include? Here’s a straightforward guide for maintenance engineers