Shorten the Sales Cycle: Don't Let Paperwork Hinder Your Asset Transaction Process

Written by Jim Boccarossa

Digital tools have proven to yield significant cost savings and reduce aviation downtime. Let's explore the benefits of these advances in the sales cycle.

The line between success and failure for airlines has always been razor-thin. Every penny counts as airlines learn to do more with less without compromising quality and safety. Aircraft maintenance cost poses a particularly significant challenge for airlines. With the MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) side of aviation representing 12–20% of an airline’s operating costs, and the supply chain still running slow, the industry is turning towards leveraging the USM (used serviceable materials) market. But in the aviation parts sales cycle, manual operations are notoriously known to hinder access to the components needed for flight operations and maintenance.

As the aviation industry bounces back from the turmoil of recent years, efficiency is critical to ensuring that lessors, operators, and suppliers get the components needed for flight operations and maintenance. Outdated manual, paper-based operations slow down processing times, restrict visibility, are error-prone, and impair efficiency. Fortunately, new digital automation and workflow tools enable the execution of these processes more effectively.

Digitalization has proven to yield significant cost savings and reduce downtime over and over again. Let’s further explore the benefits of these advances.

The Impact of Manual Process on Aircraft Parts Sales Cycle

An aircraft's lifespan is one of constant maintenance, with unending installation, removal, and replacement of parts. Each of these parts must be accurately tracked and logged according to rigorous requirements; information about hours flown, maintenance history, and inspection data are all critical for technicians to service every component properly.

Keeping information systems accurate and up-to-date is no small feat. It becomes even more complicated when multiple entities execute maintenance to aircraft components, sometimes at various locations. Readily accessible maintenance history is non-negotiable, especially regarding USM and green time assets. The grounding of an aircraft due to missing critical maintenance parts data or SRC cards results in extended downtime and substantial financial losses.

Thus, easy access to accurate records is crucial in the sales cycle—as are accurate order placements, efficient processing, and clear communication between all parties. Paper-based tracking and handwritten orders are prone to human error, and the information is easily lost or misplaced.

Manual procedures increase processing time and make monitoring permissions, authorizations, orders, and shipping progress challenging. In addition, it is almost impossible to locate a specific data point in a mass of paper-based, manually recorded information. Data sharing also proves painful with manual processes, especially when it requires physical document relocation. Paper-based methods significantly delay approval, authorization, and obtaining contract signatures.

Digitizing these processes speeds up the sales cycle, reduces downtime, and lowers costs across the entire operation—without compromising safety. It makes for fast data retrieval with efficient search functions and reduces administrative time. Documents are quick and easy to share globally, ensuring information accuracy and effective communication tracking.

Benefits of Digitizing the Sales Cycles in the Aviation Industry

Going paperless can save the aviation industry billions of dollars—and we’re not exaggerating. The airline industry saves $2 billion yearly due to IATA’s e-ticketing initiative. Considering the amount of paperwork involved in the sales cycle, digitizing the process offers significant scope for further cost savings.

However, digitalization's benefits go far beyond sustainability and reducing costs.

Improve Aviation Sales Cycle Efficiency with a Robust Document Management System

From parts authorization and compliance tracking to maintenance records and ownership transfers, streamlining the sales process is admin- and data-intensive. Even if you’ve worked tirelessly to finalize negotiations, contracts, and asset relocation, it’s not uncommon for the process of reviewing material records to throw back and slow down the entire transaction.

A digital document management system significantly simplifies and streamlines this process. Authorization personnel don’t have to be physically present with paperwork; they can quickly locate and retrieve digital documents from wherever they are.

With a digital solution, you can draft and finalize proposals faster by importing customer data automatically into documents. Additionally, you can locate templates and customer-related documents like presentations, contracts, and quotes instantly. This means less time spent searching for data, improved accuracy, and proposals sent and signed sooner.

Digitalization also enables using e-signatures to expedite the filling out of aircraft registration documents, maintenance program and schedule revisions, maintenance records, task cards, work orders, procurement documents, and contracts. This eliminates the need to print, fill in, sign, scan, and return hundreds of documents needed to finalize a deal. Instant approval with e-signatures and digital contracts improves convenience for the client and fast-tracks sale closure.

Boost Collaboration by Reducing Emails Using Automated Solutions

Back-and-forth emailing between records review teams can substantially slow down transactions. Missing communication, miscommunication, and response delays lead to lost opportunities, time, and money.

Automating processes in the sales cycle lets you track changes and facilitates instant communication across departments. Instead of bits and pieces of information, requests, and confirmations spread across hundreds of emails, everything stays in one centralized place, reducing time to compliance.

Robotic process automation (RPA) can also automate categorized documents' receipt, approval, and logging. Additionally, if data is received in an unstructured or atypical way, the bot can reformat it accordingly.

Process Green Time Assets Faster

Used serviceable materials can be cost-effective when repair and overhaul costs for rotatable components are greater than replacement ones. In cases of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supply chain issues, USM and green time parts can also help an aircraft return to service faster.

Documentation is a critical aspect of USM. Every aircraft part must be legal, traceable, and certified 100% of the time. A part without traceability raises serious questions about its legitimacy and maintenance; serviceability documentation proves the safety, quality, and airworthiness.

Poorly organized and inconsistent policies governing the approval of green time assets can also delay transactions. A digitized system makes it easier to create consistent review processes, collaborate between parties, and resolve issues quickly. Digitizing documents can streamline the sales cycle by automating parts authorization and record-keeping operations. This increases the accuracy of orders and invoices and provides transparency into the cycle. Furthermore, efficient order management, billing, and shipping tracking improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Sharpen Your Sales With Advanced Digital Capabilities

With so many entities involved in aircraft maintenance and operations, ensuring consistent and comprehensive document submission is challenging and often causes costly delays.

ProvenAir simplifies and speeds up sales by streamlining document management, data capturing, and communications. The service platform uses proprietary algorithms and AI to scan and sort maintenance records.

ProvenAir instantly identifies data errors and missing paperwork, and operational gaps. With such an efficient processing system, you can significantly shorten the sales cycle, reduce missed opportunities, and increase life-limited parts value with easy-to-follow comprehensive reports.

Get in touch today and maximize every sales opportunity with advanced digital capabilities explicitly designed for the aviation industry.