After unloading 1.5 million parts to aftermarket inventory specialist AvAir in April, Iberia Maintenance is pursuing further parts flexibility through a new agreement with DHL Supply Chain Iberia.
The two companies have signed a contract that will see DHL managing the internal logistics and shipment of spare parts and components for Iberia Maintenance at the MRO’s La Munoza hub in Madrid, as well as at Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suarez Airport and Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport in Spain. DHL will provide Iberia Maintenance with global distribution of spare parts as needed.
The contract also includes logistics at Iberia’s IT and aircraft supply warehouses, where many inflight service elements are managed. According to DHL, it will manage all of this through its advanced digitalization tools, which it says will enable operations to adapt to the demand of Iberia Maintenance’s various business units in a timely way.
The companies say the new agreement continues their existing relationship, through which Iberia Maintenance has provided MRO services for DHL’s fleet of Rolls-Royce RB-211 engines since 2008.
“This strengthened partnership will guarantee real-time traceability of parts moving through our system, complete inventory accuracy and the integration of the freight forwarding activity that DHL has been developing for the last three years for Iberia Maintenance,” says Ivan Gonzalez Vallejo, maintenance strategy and supply chain director, Iberia.
Aside from its pursuit of efficiencies within the supply chain, Iberia Maintenance has been busy getting aircraft ready for service after more than a year of storage. It recently performed required checks and heavy maintenance work for 29 Airbus A320 family narrowbodies operated by Iberia and Iberia Express. It also recently converted three A330s back into passenger configuration after the aircraft were converted into freighters at the end of 2020.
