Trust in Data: Finding Ways to Benefit Our Customers / By Meghan Burgan

Author: gatelesis

Over the last 20 years, one thing that remained constant in my various aviation roles is the recognized benefit from data utilization and analysis. Earlier in my career, I acquired in-depth knowledge of process modeling, change management, project management, and Six Sigma black belt practices. Through this type of development, I learned quickly that using data can move an organization forward with factual information rather than guesswork. Data can help us:

• Grow sales – Focus on what your stakeholders want, then analyze your wins and losses to drive future sales
• Decrease cost – There are many ways to lower costs. For instance, look at cycle times of a key process or enhance the planning of your supply chain
• Improve customer satisfaction and build loyalty – Evaluate your customer survey data. Feedback is key to retaining your customer base! Use that knowledge to expand
• Enhance partnerships – As your satisfaction rates grow, you will create opportunities to farm your customers for additional business
• Motivate employees – Mining data can help employees better manage their time effectively and focus on value added tasks

At GA Telesis, our team consists of individuals who served in the US Air Force, worked at major OEM’s, repair shops, and trading companies and all of them support a culture that fosters the use of data. Here are two of several key areas where the team uses data:

Flight Hour Program Reliability

The utilization of aircraft reliability data is essential to ensure safety and dependability for the fleets we manage. Our customers count on us to dispatch reliable parts at a competitive cost. Consumption of the operational, reliability, maintenance, and service bulletin data drive our day to day decision making process. We are fortunate to have an internal network of aviation experts from our shops, product line managers, and asset traders who all provide input to better support our customers. Our engineers work with our program operations team to review unscheduled component removals, in-flight shutdowns, unscheduled engine removals, and shop visits along with the flight hours and cycles. All these efforts drive our on-time delivery performance with high-quality products.

Supplier Performance Management

As our flight hour customers measure our performance, we do the same for our purchasing and repair processes. We have a robust supplier performance management system in place to measure, analyze, and manage the supplier’s performance in an effort to lower cost, meet or exceed TAT, mitigate risks, and drive continuous improvement. The ultimate intent is to identify potential issues and their root causes so they can be resolved to everyone’s benefit, as early as possible. We’ve all seen the news where a great corporate brand has been tarnished by the actions of their suppliers. With the right supplier performance management system, you can track supplier performance against KPIs and mitigate risk to the fullest. This type of monitoring enables you to enact corrective actions early and keep your brand and reputation strong in the eyes of your customers and partners.

In the last decade, data has evolved tremendously. It is the foundation of many types of businesses and their performance. As a matter of fact, there are new businesses that simply perform data analysis for other companies. Companies now use real-time dashboards combining financial data, process data, and inventory data. As we analyze trends and use predictive analysis in real time, our business can respond even more quickly and accurately than ever before.