Aerospace Supply Chain Trends & Challenges

A supply chain is at the heart of any aerospace and defense (A&D) organization’s success. Effective and efficient supply chains enable A&D organizations to meet their strategic and financial goals.

The A&D supply chain is a complex ecosystem of different tiers of suppliers; original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers; and customers including airliners and armed forces. With customers from across the globe, the supply chains of major A&D players are also very much global and diversified in nature.

Not only do companies need to deal with suppliers and customers across different geographies, they also need to deal with an entire ecosystem of data, created by the digital disruption in the industry. Using supply chain data effectively and protecting it against cybercrimes are imperative for successful A&D players.

This document looks at the challenges A&D companies face in managing the ever-evolving supply chain and discusses the strategies that they can adopt to address their supply chain challenges. It also envisions how the key elements of the A&D supply chain — customers, suppliers, shop floors and businesses — will look like in the future.