OEM expanding into USM for its own parts.
L3Harris is expanding its presence in the aftermarket by getting into the used equipment business, a space in which it historically has not participated.
The most popular products most likely will be for traffic collision avoidance system, recorder and transponder components for business aviation, air transport, helicopter and general aviation aircraft.
“There is quite literally a daily RFQ process with customers where they’re rebalancing inventory,” adjusting for too much or too little inventory, a maintenance event or a part that is beyond economic repair, says Adrian Paull, L3Harris VP customer support, in an exclusive interview with Aviation Week. While other companies source and sell L3 Harris parts, the OEM until now has not.
“That was a big missed opportunity,” Paull says. To address that and improve customer service, the company is launching SkyParts Global, its used serviceable material business.
“There are things only the OEM can do. For instance, if we spot that there’s a particular part number, an early version that is scarce, we can often pull out the engineering drawings and say, ‘we understand there’s a difference between a 902 and 901, and if it’s the 901 you’re looking for, let’s bring in a 902 and turn it into 901,” Paull says.
He thinks this business could generate $25 million or more annually. In speaking with customers about this business before it launched, it secured more than $1 million of business within a few weeks. Paull says customers appreciate that the parts are OEM certified and come with a warranty.
In related news, L3Harris is looking into setting up component repair capabilities for its products in Europe and Asia. Paull says he hopes to accomplish this next year.
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