thyssenkrupp Aerospace has signed a new multi-year agreement to provide supply chain management solutions to Airbus Atlantic, the world number 2 player in the aerostructures market, number 1 in pilot seats and in the top 3 for premium passenger seats. This agreement is an extension of the partnership the two companies have already had since 2010.

“We have already had an excellent relationship and industrial partnership with Airbus Atlantic and this extension shows the trust they have in our capabilities as a leading supply chain management solution provider,” says Emmanuel Soubigou, VP Supply Chain Services/Aerospace at thyssenkrupp Materials France. “The benefits of outsourcing supply chain management are well-known and I’m delighted to see how Airbus Atlantic has endorsed our ‘Materials as a Service’ strategy by extending the partnership we have together.”

Control tower solutions offer a wide range of benefits

This new agreement sees thyssenkrupp Aerospace providing a tailor-made, flexible and modular strategic supply chain control tower solution to Airbus Atlantic’s operations in France (Méaulte, Saint- Nazaire, Toulouse), Tunisia and Morocco. This allows the company to offer a wide range of services specific to Airbus Atlantic’s needs, including Conbid management, procurement of materials and parts, inventory control, logistics planning to anticipate distribution and delivery challenges, two-hour deliveries in situ, and customs management amongst many other services.

Francois Pillavoine, Head of Key Account Management Supply Chain Services/Aerospace at thyssenkrupp Materials France says that the control tower solution thyssenkrupp Aerospace created for Airbus Atlantic has been highly successful and has prepared the company well for the coming ramp up in business: “Everyone in the aerospace industry has been through turbulent times over the last two years, but by sub-contracting supply chain management services to thyssenkrupp Aerospace Airbus Atlantic benefits from improved inventory control, less stockpiling and more efficient operations so that they and us are ready for the ramp up.”

“Materials as a service” takes Supply Chain Management to new dimensions

As part of its strategic development “Materials as a Service”, the holding company thyssenkrupp Materials Services is systematically expanding its supply chain businesses. The aerospace expert’s approach to the strategy takes the idea of third-party logistics (3PL) and adds another dimension to it. Its 4PL services includes managing entire eco-systems on behalf of its clients including, for example, various subcontractors and raw materials providers, resources, or locations to develop and maintain fully integrated and optimized supply chain solutions for its clients.

Patrick Marous, Global CEO of thyssenkrupp Aerospace, explains more about the company’s approach to “Materials as a Service”, and how it helps solve real problems for Airbus Atlantic and others in the aerospace industry: “Focusing on prices and costs savings is absolutely necessary, but it’s a limited way of creating value along the supply chain. Supply chain management put under the control of a strategic partner not only addresses procurement of materials, parts and systems, but also logistics planning to anticipate distribution and delivery challenges, lead times for orders, and inventory control. To complete the package, we also offer supply chain consulting and execution, including developing and running a control tower from which we manage parts of customers’ supply chain.”

As one of the world's leading service providers in the market for raw materials, processing services and the management of complex supply chains, thyssenkrupp Aerospace supplies the required materials just-in-time, cut and machined exactly to customer specifications. The aim is for customers to be able to concentrate fully on their core business. The company has a global network of 21 countries.