DHL wins US$14.8 million KPMG contract to rescue Aero Inventory

AERO Inventory, the insolvent UK aviation equipment storage company, expects to come back into the black with auditors KPMG partnering with DHL to track and consolidate almost 25 million parts and trace documents over 100 locations to one location.


The Hertfordshire company offered Qantas, All Nippon Airways, Air Canada and Haeco among others a service that involved buying, storing, leasing and maintaining an inventory of various airframe structures, engines, wheels, brakes, electronic gear and interiors.


DHL Supply Chain has gained a three-year contract with KPMG worth EUR10.6 million (US$14.8 million) to consolidate this scattered inventory from as far away as El Salvador and China. DHL aims to rebuild Aero's stock to avoid a heavily discounted fire sale.


The rescue team will create three gateways in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan to consolidate parts released from Aero Inventory worldwide and then ship them back to Singapore.


It began to track and trace of C&E parts in January, housing them at its Singapore hub, which was expanded 55 per cent to 70,000 extra square feet. Its sales inventory channel will go live in April 2011 with consolidation of its entire inventory complete by January 2012.


KPMG, the administrators since November 2009, has been restructuring Aero Inventory to put it on a solid footing for the future. "Reconciling the massive inventory spread across the world to the central hub in Singapore is the focus of the restructuring process and will give Aero Inventory's customers clear visibility of available stock and trace documentation," said Jim Tucker, joint administrator of Aero Inventory and restructuring partner at KPMG in a statement from DHL.


"We look forward to bringing our worldwide logistics and warehousing solutions experience to this project and are confident we can help to make the Aero Inventory business a growing one once again," said DHL Supply Chain vice president Asia Pacific Andrew Mitchell.


"This is a classic case of close internal collaboration between DHL's specialist business units where we have been able to leverage our expertise across DHL Supply Chain, DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Express."
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)