Identifying the Role of ERP in Enhancing Operational Efficiency and Supply Chain Mobility in Aircraft Manufacturing Industry

Efficient utilization of existing resources, planning for the development of effective supply chain solutions and integration with end-user terminals and processes have been the key factors in determining the usage of ICT-based solutions. With the advent of ERP/MIS solutions and their successful implementations thereafter, it became quite clear that ERP would not only play a role in operational enhancement of processes but also become a way of gaining a strategic and tactical advantage over the competitors. One such industry which witnessed the success stories and failure incidents due to ERP is the aircraft manufacturing industry. The most remarkable feature about this industry is the scale of operations and the amount of mobility that is involved in the development of an aircraft. Planning for manufacturing of an aircraft requires handling complex and intertwined operations based on a supply chain network spread across the globe. In such a scenario, big aircraft manufacturing organizations view ERP as a tool for strategic management providing them a competitive edge and helping them reduce cost-of-operations and complexity of procedures.