In my first nine-month assignment, I had the opportunity to dive head-first into the exciting world of aerospace supply chain. Contract negotiation with suppliers, inventory management, and routinely resolving procurement issues as they arise were among the day-to-day tasks in my first assignment as an Operations Graduate.
I never thought that I would have the opportunity to apply supply chain concepts and skills learned in school directly in a negotiation with a global hardware supplier in Morocco – three months into my assignment!
Understanding the process and components needed for aircraft wheel and brake manufacturing – the bill of material and supplier list is extensive! My current assignment deals with material and parts – thousands of them. In order to have effective conversations with engineers, planners, and suppliers, I had to have a basic understanding of the critical mechanisms in a wheel and brake assembly. There was a wheel and brake model built for an Airbus A340 sitting right in my department! Many times, I found myself referring to that model to get a better understanding of the material that I was working with and how it all fit together.
In addition to understanding the assemblies, my job required that I work with different people from all over the world. Oftentimes, my goals would conflict with various organisations that I was negotiating with. Suppliers would ask questions, propose different ideas, or sometimes flat out refuse to work with me on objectives set out by Meggitt. It was up to me to maintain persistence, communicate effectively, and leverage other areas of the relationship with the supplier to ensure success.
Utilising the company’s resources – and utilising them well. Whenever posed with a difficult task or project, I was able to navigate the challenge by utilising the host of resources that Meggitt provides. Be it – the internal portal to share ideas, my programme mentor, or at times even the other graduates in my programme – I was never short of opportunities for support.
Another key to success is knowing what I wanted to learn and communicating that to my coworkers, mentor, and leadership. There is always someone there to help you ride the learning curve!
In my first assignment I found myself in Akron, Ohio working for the aircraft braking systems business of Meggitt. A strategic initiative of Meggitt is to place greater emphasis on inventory management – specifically reducing the costs involved. I was tasked with increasing the amount of spend with suppliers that is on consignment and VMI contracts. It wasn’t always easy, but I learned a great deal about contract negotiation – at a global level. My job afforded me the opportunity to meet with many suppliers face-to-face. I travelled from France to California to assess supplier capabilities, negotiate agreements, and establish relationships with key players in our supply chain base.
Working on complex problems with a team of engineers. My team was tasked with developing an alternative ram air turbine (RAT) for next-generation aircraft that was lighter, more efficient, and cost-effective. I was able to consider the problem from a supply chain perspective – the best designed RAT in the world will not be successful if the material to make it cannot be sourced economically!
I am eagerly awaiting my next placement and assignment!
