Ready for the challenge

Aerospace Manufacturing hears how thyssenkrupp Materials UK is helping to solve the many logistics challenges for the aerospace and defence industries.

As the aerospace manufacturing industry is in a slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, thyssenkrupp Materials UK says it is firmly supporting the sector with not only materials supply, but also added value services and in-house engineering expertise – an important step in the strategic development of thyssenkrupp Materials Services, the holding company of thyssenkrupp Materials UK.

With ‘Materials as a Service’, the company aims to systematically link the supply of raw materials and materials with individual services, above all in the area of supply chain services. After the recent merger of two divisions in the UK, the company is enabled to offer comprehensive third-party logistics (3PL) and fourth-party logistics (4PL) opportunities to its customers.

3PL describes a company’s use of outsourcing partners to manage parts of warehousing, transport or fulfilment process. Those 3PL logistics service providers usually specialise in separate integrated logistics operations and include, for example, freight forwarding companies. 4PL takes the 3PL outsourcing concept further by managing entire networks, including, for example, various 3PL companies, resources, or locations to develop and maintain fully integrated and optimised supply chain solutions. Even strategic supply chain consulting is possible.

“Companies must deal with many issues at the moment, influenced by, but also beyond the pandemic,” begins the company’s head of key accounts, Simon Davies. “There are fluctuations in global demand, exchange rates and key commodity prices. The increased uncertainties during the past year have created serious constraints. This makes it a necessity for businesses to internally and externally integrate their supply chain processes and develop individual solutions to their specific challenges – often together with 3PL or 4PL logistics service providers.

“thyssenkrupp Materials UK is now in position to address the most important aspects of our customers’ projects - from supplier quality and demand management to IT and supplier collaboration - all achieved by working as a highly collaborative, cross-functional team of experts.”

Currently, the thyssenkrupp team is working round the clock to support the UK defence sector in overcoming steel supply challenges. With the current steel supply risks, thyssenkrupp Materials UK is one of the biggest stockist of commercial and defence grade materials in the country. The company is assisting major defence manufacturers in resourcing activities to ensure these risks are mitigated and their production requirements achieved.

“Many companies are struggling at the moment with materials supply,” adds Davies. “Together with the requirement for greater flexibility by their customers, this presents a difficult task. It means that supply chains should be tailored to be efficient, but also future-fit and adaptable in order to cope with the ever-changing circumstances. Supply chain outsourcing can be a valuable support in this regard. We view all our customers as strategic partners and therefore, we are always happy to help tackle supply chain challenges. We are always aware of our customers’ specific needs.”

Above and beyond

To deliver beyond satisfaction, thyssenkrupp Materials UK is welcoming a new team member as key account programme manager whose responsibility is to identify and implement systems and process improvements that help optimise the customers supply chain, reducing costs and providing security of supply. The new key account programme manager comes with a wealth of knowledge, having worked in Supply Chain and NPI roles for major aerospace OEMs and Tier Ones.

Although the past year presented numerous critical challenges, the outlook remains positive for the industry, as long as it’s being supported by companies with a wealth of experience, such as thyssenkrupp Materials UK. External supply chain experts can be a valuable source for the identification of past bottleneck situations and supplier disruptions. Therefore, a holistic assessment of all potential vulnerabilities along the entire supply chain network should be executed. The goal is to enhance the overall supply chain resilience and robustness for the future.

www.thyssenkrupp-materials.co.uk