Much of which has to do with stepping back from the problem, and approaching it from a new perspective. It will require companies along the supply chain to begin viewing the process from the perspective of the part, rather than from that of their company, thus removing small island of paperwork information which cannot be shared.

"When information concentrates at organisational boundaries, it cannot be used to solve much more significant "ecosystem-wide" challenges. Solving them requires multi-party visibility: like predicting demand, optimising inventory, sensing risk in the supply chain or avoiding write-downs on obsolete parts etc. Today, much manual effort is spent on trying to solve these problems. The math is there, but the data simply isn't."

In trying to address this issue, Whitehead went on to explain that his company asked: What would the supply chain look like if we could see it from the part's perspective?

Consequently, by focusing on that question, his company Enspan (formerly Parts Pedigree) was able to develop a unique approach to the answer. A platform where every player can digitally store their data about their interaction with specific parts—and in doing so, providing a broad view of the entire supply chain from the part's perspective.

Greater transparency through digital ecosystems

The work that Whitehead's company has done in looking at the paper problem from the viewpoint of the part addresses another problematic issue—trust between parties along the supply chain.

Much of the hoarding of information comes from the fact that parties can often only see one step ahead or behind in the supply chain. What happens beyond that one step can be a mystery, thus sparking a culture of over documentation and record-keeping (paper trails), as a form of protective insulation should a parts pedigree or provenance come into question.

Whitehead explained that by generating digital documents automatically from transactions, then encrypting and digitally signing them, it allows more transparency between trading partners. Multiple parties along the supply chain can store logistical, operational and technical information against the part batch/serial number.

This information can be requested and accessed by anyone along the supply chain, as long as they are given access to the blockchain key which guards the information.

The long slow road

There is no doubt that a paperless aviation supply chain is in the future, the question then becomes: When? Unfortunately, that is not a question that we can answer. However, it is promising that passionate thinkers such as Tristan Whitehead and the like have taken up the mantle of optimising a fundamental infrastructure of the aviation industry.

How to Streamline Your Aviation Supply Chain with less manpower

Digital services

Quick Links

Quick Links

Legal Links

Do supply chains dream of electric paper?