AAR Corp launches AI platform Airvoyant to cut procurement costs by 30%

(Bloomberg) -- AAR Corp. unveiled a new subsidiary, Airvoyant, which is an agentic AI platform designed to automate and streamline the often-manual process of aviation procurement. The company estimates the platform could reduce procurement costs by 20-30% for airlines and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) providers.

“Airlines have invested a lot in planning for inventory, figuring out the minimum amount of inventory investment that they need to achieve the maximum amount of service level,” John Holmes, AAR Corp’s chairman, president and CEO, said. “But the action of actually procuring those parts is still a very manual and inefficient task. We know that because we’re one of the largest sellers of new and used parts.”

The new platform, launched on April 21, uses AI agents to analyze supplier quotes and provide ranked recommendations based on historical procurement data. Airvoyant integrates with AAR’s MRO software provider, Trax, allowing for requisitions to be streamed directly into the system for immediate processing. Aeroxchange, an electronic supply chain transaction platform, is the first vendor to connect to Airvoyant.

The move comes as the aviation industry increasingly looks to technology to manage complex supply chains and reduce operational costs. While other companies use AI to optimize inventory, Airvoyant’s president and general manager, Jon Baker, said the platform’s edge comes from automating decision-making. The system considers historical vendor performance, logistics, and other data points to determine the best deal. Amazon Web Services is a key technology partner and has invested in the platform's development.

Competitive Landscape

While AAR’s Airvoyant is a new entrant, other companies are also leveraging AI in the aviation MRO space. Coforge, for instance, recently launched its own AI platforms, Voyager.AI and Flightflex.AI, aimed at enhancing customer experience and managing disruptions. The key differentiator for Airvoyant, according to company executives, is its focus on automating the entire procurement process, from requisition to decision-making, rather than just optimizing inventory or managing disruptions. The platform will create a data lake to track transaction data, which will be used to evaluate vendor performance over time. This data-driven approach is expected to reward high-performing vendors.

The broader aviation maintenance market is also seeing a push towards digitalization and predictive maintenance. Experts at a recent industry conference highlighted the challenges of fragmented data systems and the need for better data management to enable proactive maintenance planning. The ability to access and analyze data from various sources is seen as crucial for reducing downtime and improving efficiency.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.