Logistics and Supply Chain: An Overview of Business Jet Aircraft Manufacturing

Abstract

The paper highlights key points of aircraft manufacturing and supply chain, which includes key supply chain stages of macro processes and logistics of material flow through a network of stages, organization and workstations. Supply chain refers to a series of facilities, with sequence of activities involved in producing and delivering of a product and service. The study was done through personal work experience in an aircraft factory, watching video documentary on National Geography Chanel, literature review of Federal Aviation Administration manuals, books, newspaper articles, aircraft manufacturing websites, and other internet survey. The network of stages starts from ultimate supplier, in the form of raw material, ends up to the final customer, in the form of finished goods. Logistics involve movement of materials, funds, and information between these stages of a supply chain, in a coordinated way. In some large manufacturing facility, such as an aircraft manufacturing factory, multiple stages of supply chain are found within the factory premise itself. Within a specific stage, production lines are found, such that workers and machines are grouped together with a sequence of assigned activities to produce customized, handcrafted, yet standardized outputs. Zooming from supply chain macro level process to micro level manufacturing processes, together with transportation and logistics of material between the stages are highlighted.

Keywords: Aircraft Manufacturing, Logistics, Transporation, Supply Chain and Opertions Management.