API Support For Cirrus Parts Under New Deal
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By Elyse Moody/AviationWeek.com
Cirrus Parts by API is set to launch on July 27--and "launch" means full operations, says Dr. Ahmed Metwalli, president of Aerospace Products International. "All elements [of our support for Cirrus customers] will be available when we go live," he says.
API will provide Cirrus customer service centers and owner/operators with supply chain, logistics and spare parts services per a new, exclusive, multi-year services agreement. API is launching the new brand, Cirrus Parts by API, to market and sell Cirrus parts and services.
Metwalli isn't too concerned about meeting the deadline in two weeks. API has been developing its support base for Cirrus since April, he says. A project management team organized API's efforts, adding all of Cirrus' customer support centers to API's customer databases to expedite the transition. API will host the parts ordering site for all of Cirrus' service centers. Next, Metwalli says API has a team ready to dispatch to Cirrus locations on July 20, to pack and transport inventory to its headquarters in Memphis, Tenn. Then, API employees will spend the weekend bar-coding inventory and stocking shelves to prepare for the rollout of Cirrus Parts by API on the 27th.
In two weeks, its Cirrus Parts by API website will be operational, and its customer telephone support system will be up and running, Metwalli says. He expects the transition to be seamless for customers. Although they will place orders with API employees, and API will pick, pack and ship the spare parts, Metwalli says, "Cirrus will remain the face to the customer."
The elements of the support agreement are vast: Metwalli describes it as "a turnkey project from A to Z." API will manage procurement and parts inventory, forecast spare parts demand and plan global inventory levels, manage customer returns and rotable exchanges, and process warranty claims and parts replacements for all current Cirrus SR models.
Other services API will provide to Cirrus service centers and customers include: immediate parts shipment, 24/7 customer service by telephone (Metwalli stresses these are live people rather than recordings), increased inventory visibility and vast availability of more than 4,000 line items, demand forecasting for accurate inventory levels, a robust order system for accurate order and shipping, aggressive market analysis for competitive pricing and timely accounts receiveable and payable processes.
The contract's terms provide API support for Cirrus' 213 authorized services centers and 5,000 in-service aircraft. The arrangement also covers support for the in-development Cirrus Vision SJ50 (formerly known as The-jet), currently expected to enter service in 2012. More than 500 of these have been ordered to date.
API has distribution centers and partnerships in the U.S., Canada, China, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
