What Makes Good Aircraft Spare Parts Suppliers?

There are about 5,500 aircraft spare parts suppliers in the world. The fact that you can buy aircraft spare parts over the Internet means it is possible to buy from any of these suppliers. You should however not buy your spare parts from the first supplier you come across since some are neither credible nor reliable while others deal in counterfeit parts. Counterfeit parts not only pose intellectual property rights issues and trademark infringement issues but they are also downright dangerous since, as an example, a rivet that is defective could lead to a plane crash. A good aircraft spare parts supplier is therefore one who supplies genuine parts.

Good aircraft spare parts suppliers are those that supply OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts and used parts. This gives you an opportunity to get exactly what you want since the two options have merits and demerits. A good supplier is one who has been in the business for a long time since this means he has experienced personnel. Go for a supplier who employs personnel who have been trained in accredited institutions. A good aircraft spare parts supplier is one who has the relevant licenses and approvals. These should come from the relevant government and industry regulatory bodies. The supplier should be recognized by country’s civil aviation authority (such as the UK Civil Aviation Authority and U.S.’s Federal Aviation Authority) and should have such approvals as BSI/ISO approvals and JAR 145 approval. The supplier should supply time controlled parts and LLP (life limited parts) with the relevant documentation so that you can do such things as an engine serial number trace and a ‘back to birth’ trace.

The best aircraft spare parts supplier is one who offers different services under one roof. Other than the supplying of aircraft parts, the supplier should offer such services as aircraft/engine material support, engine sales and leasing, on-wing services, engine maintenance management programs, and asset management. Good aircraft spare parts suppliers have large networks with aircraft part manufacturers so that you get to choose from different brands. Your supplier of choice should offer customer support. He should have customer account managers to give one-on-one attention to the clients, spare provisioning planning services, order administration services, and spare parts inventory control to ensure that parts are always available. The supplier should have a worldwide distribution and an online presence.