INVENTORY LOCATOR Service (ILS) is to provide free access, via the Internet, to its database of stolen aircraft-parts. Previously, the database was available only to customers using the company's "electronic marketplace" to buy and sell aircraft parts.
ILS created the database after a 1989 industry conference estimated that up to $500 million-worth of parts are stolen each year. The database of almost 7,000 items helps prevent customers inadvertently buying or selling parts, which have been reported stolen.
The stolen-parts database can be accessed through ILS' Internet server at http://www.go-ils.com. It can be searched, using part numbers and serial numbers, and includes a brief description of each part.
Suppliers list more than 30 million line items on ILS databases, and almost 3,000 companies use the service to buy parts. The company is developing a database of companies with US Federal Aviation Administration parts-manufacturer approval, which allows them to duplicate parts produced by the original manufacturer, even if no longer in production.
ILS says that the service, to be available in the third quarter of 1996, will enable customers to "-locate additional sources for new parts and manufacturers for parts that cannot be found in the inventory". Customers include airlines, distributors, overhaul shops and fixed-base operators.
Source: Flight International
