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To: DOUG H (1640 )
From: Denis K. Guenette Tuesday, Feb 22 2000 6:01PM ET
Reply # of 1646
Aircraft Hubs Set To Take Flight
Chuck Moozakis
February 21, 2000, Issue: 801
Section: News & Analysis
techweb.com
In the white-hot field of business-to-busi-ness trading hubs, the aircraft industry is next in line for takeoff.
In the next few months, at least two business-to-business Web sites-MyAircraft.com and AviationX-are expected to begin operations geared to the multibillion-dollar aftermarket for aircraft.
The sites will let aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, airlines and other companies use the Internet to perform a variety of functions, from ordering parts to collaborating on designs. They follow General Electric's Aircraft Engines' Customer Web Center extranet, which the manufacturer quietly launched earlier this month.
Common Specs
In all three cases, the sites will leverage the Air Transport Association's Spec 2000 project, a worldwide effort to standardize how parts information is exchanged among airlines, and Spec 2100, which provides specs for manuals, products and drawings related to maintenance and certification of aircraft parts. Both projects specify XML as the protocol through which users interact with the hub.
While online hubs are sprouting in other industries, the Web may offer aircraft makers and airlines more efficiencies because of the complexity of their products.
"If you look at an airplane as 1.5 million to 2 million parts flying in close formation, you need to have a unified standard to buy parts from all of these different manufacturers," said Paul Evans, an independent aviation consultant. "Over the life of an airplane, it's very possible for every one of those parts to be taken off and replaced."
GE Aircraft site participant Delta Air Lines said having a common platform on which to share data delivers significant efficiencies. Delta engineers access the site to get information about parts, ordering status and technical data, instead of relying on phone calls and faxes to obtain the information they need, said Basil Papayoti, general manager of planning and production, engine maintenance, for Delta.
"Having visibility in their supply chain is of great value," Papayoti said. "We can make decisions faster, and it helps us keep production moving."
Delta is one of 15 airlines that order parts and check status of repairs, among other things, at the GE site, said David Overbeeke, e-business leader in GE's aircraft unit.
"This will allow us to give our customers access to tools that will help drive additional functionality, like collaboration," Overbeeke said.
GE has ambitious plans for the Web site, promising a marketplace where the $500 billion aerospace industry can buy, sell and trade parts and services, use supply chain management services and view online technical publications. GE expects to expand its services to more than 300 customers by midsummer.
Even as Delta is stepping up its use of GE's Web site, the airline will also evaluate the other trading hubs, Papayoti said.
Other Options
There's plenty to consider. MyAircraft.com-launched last week as a cooperative venture among Honeywell International Inc., United Technologies Corp. and e-commerce application developer i2 Technologies Inc.-expects to have its site up and running in late spring, said Bob Johnson, CEO of Honeywell Aerospace.
"There are lots of opportunities, not the least of which is having digitized data available to customers, suppliers and ourselves for planning," Johnson said. That type of information will let Honeywell shave a month off the time it now takes to synchronize a customer's order with production.
MyAircraft.com said it will open up its site to all manufacturers and suppliers, which will pay a membership or transaction fee to use its site.
AviationX, meanwhile, also plans a summertime launch for its trading hub. The company, founded late last year, will offer the same types of services as those promised by MyAircraft.com and GE's aircraft unit, but it will be free from the corporate ties of those sites, said vice president Mitch Baranowski. "Is a Honeywell going to make a competitor's product as available as one of its own?" he asked.
Of all the sites' capabilities, their collaboration engines may prove most beneficial, analysts said.
GE is using a proprietary collaboration application developed in conjunction with Tata, an Indian software developer. MyAircraft.com will use software to be developed and hosted by i2 that dovetails with i2's TradeMatrix e-commerce platform. AviationX hasn't determined what package it will use or its specific capabilities.
Easing Bottlenecks
Collaboration apps will let aircraft manufacturers, suppliers and other participants work together to access information about parts, services, technical manuals and other data needed to keep planes in the air.
Collaboration among various parties will, for example, let airlines handle their parts inventories more efficiently. Aircraft manufacturers' warehouses are now choked with more than $40 billion in critical parts, said Dave Becker, i2's vice president of finance.
"If they can collaborate with their OEMs to better define their demand and supply signals, it will keep inventories more manageable," Becker added.
I2 will host MyAircraft.com's collaboration application either onsite or through facilities managed by Exodus Communications and IBM. Participants would be able to access the package through the MyAircraft.com hub.
GE will manage its collaboration application internally; customers would be able to access it simply by accessing the site.
The idea will be to mirror steps taken by the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing International, a heavy-manufacturing trade group examining how mechanical design files can be moved to partners over the Internet. Firms such as Rockwell-Collins are participating in a test with application service provider Alibre Corp. and Qwest Communications International to see how critical files can be transported securely via a hosted service.
Observers said there's plenty of room for all three sites.
"At the very least, these approaches will make the commerce chain more efficient," said Meta Group analyst David Yockelson. "What airlines face is getting a very complex product up very quickly, but at a very high quality. The more facilities they can place into the chain, the better."
internetwk.com
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