Aircraft Maintenance and Inventory Control: Using the Material Requirements Planning System-Can It Reduce Costs and Increase Efficiency?

The movement and control of spare parts in the airline industry is often unpredictable, highly capital intensive and there is constant pressure to increase efficiency and reduce costs. The Material Requirements Planning system (MRP) is now being used in a small but significant number of airline operator and maintenance service organisations around the world. This investigation examines the experiences of those companies using the system and asks whether it can be applied successfully throughout the industry.