First Graduates Complete Air New Zealand and RNZAF Aerospace Business Programme

Air New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Air Force recently launched a new university programme devoted to raising the game in aerospace supply chain management.

General Manager Air New Zealand Technical Operations Chris Nassenstein said, "This is a critical area of our business and we need to invest in our people to help them stay at the top of their game."

Air New Zealand and the RNZAFworked with Auckland University to develop a 10-day post-graduate course. The first 37 participants graduate from the Aerospace Supply Chain Management Programme this week.

The programme covered best practice in procurement, tenders, inventory, service level agreements and planning. Mr Nassenstein said Air New Zealand’s supply chain staff have traditionally needed years of experience in the aviation engineering business to be effective in their roles. The course was designed to complement that with a structured understanding of theory, best practice and new techniques.

"Air New Zealand is committed to helping its people and this course will give our staff more tools to innovate in this critical area of our business, and enhance their own professional development," he said. "It will also make it possible to get new staff performing at a high level faster."

Air New Zealand Technical Operations Materials Services group controls $300 million worth of inventory and the repair cycle of more than 9000 rotable components. They handle 2000 shipments of material per month and 35,000 purchase orders per year for more than $100 million of aircraft spares.

The RNZAF Logistics Group controls $138 million worth of inventory and the repair cycle of more than 33,000 components considered rotable. They handle 1200 shipments of material per month and 10,500 purchase orders per year for an average of $66 million worth of aircraft spares.

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