Airline-led e-commerce venture AirNewco and manufacturer-led internet exchange My-Aircraft are to combine their efforts in the first deal to bring buyers and sellers together as joint owners of an aerospace e-marketplace.
The new venture will link AirNewco - founded in April as an airline-owned exchange to streamline the procurement of parts and services - and MyAircraft, a joint venture between United Technologies, Honeywell, BFGoodrich and i2 Technologies announced in February and focused on aftermarket products and services.
The 13 members of AirNewco and MyAircraft will share ownership of the new Washington, DC-based venture, which will be named later this year. Services will be rolled out in the first quarter next year, beginning with e-procurement tools, and followed by supplier chain management and technical information.
AirNewco includes Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Iberia, SAirGroup, United Airlines and UPS. Together they account for 10% of the global airline industry's $500 billion annual spend on procurement of parts and services, AirNewco estimates. Qantas was a founding member, but will now be a customer, not an equity partner.
The buyer/seller tie-up provides the new exchange with the "critical mass" to achieve the savings projected for e-commerce, says Jim Taiclet, Honeywell's vice-president of aerospace services. These include cuts of 50-60% in transaction costs,10-20% in inventory and 2-3% for parts and services.
Source: Flight International
