Aircelle Maroc are flying high with Class A accreditation from Oliver Wight

Jan. 25, 2012 - PRLog -- Since implementing the Oliver Wight Class A programme, service levels at Aircelle Maroc have improved a minimum of 98%, having previously fluctuated between 70% and 80%. At the same time, stockholding levels have been reduced by a third, saving hundreds of thousands of Euros, and the company has received formal recognition from Rolls-Royce for its ‘class-leading’ OTIF delivery achievements.  There have also been significant reductions in manufacturing cycles, with assembly of some products reduced by as much as 50%.  All this has been achieved in a remarkably short space of time – the business received Class A certification for planning and control after just 18 months.

“The savings we have made in stockholding are worth €7.5 million, or about €30,000 every working day,” says supply chain manager, Ludovic Boisrame.  “One of the key enablers was the breakdown of barriers between functions, underpinned by the Class A work.  As soon as everybody was working from a single set of data, it was easy to see where the improvements could be made and measured.”

The programme is part of a wider Class A implementation across Aircelle and the €10 billion, 55,000 employee Safran group, it’s part of.  Safran is a French-owned multi-national operating in 50 countries and three core markets: aerospace, defence and security. Aircelle’s customers include major engine and airframe manufacturers, such as Airbus, Gulfstream, Rolls-Royce and Power Jet.  Aircelle Maroc, based in Casablanca, is the first non-French site within the Safran group to achieve the Oliver Wight Class A standard.

The Moroccan plant, which manufactures nacelles (engine casings), thrust reversers and carbon fibre composite components for airliners and executive jets, has gone from strength to strength since opening in 2006; revenue has grown from €10 to €70 million, and the site now employs nearly 450 people.  But General Manager, Benoit Martin-Laprade, is determined to continue on this upward path, planning for 15% growth every year for the next five years.

Class A is crucial for continuous growth, says Benoit: “It gives us a methodology, a structure, and you need that if you plan to grow by 15% every year. Class A is a globally recognised standard and it really means something to our customers all over the world.  There’s no doubt that it helps us secure new business. And we know we can do it without having to increase inventory,” he concludes.

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Oliver Wight has a 40 year track record of delivering business improvement to some of the world’s best-known organisations. With a team of professionals offering a wealth of experience, Oliver Wight is the largest consultancy of its type.