Ensuring that flights are fully stocked with the correct inflight service materials is a complex and cumbersome task, made even more difficult by fragmented and outdated systems. The result is mismatched information that leads to angry passengers and wasted resources. There is good news, however. LimeFlight has shaken up the inflight logistics process, consolidating the supply chain and revolutionizing how airlines manage their inflight logistics process. By bringing all stakeholders and systems together into a Single Point of Truth, airlines can transform their inflight logistics supply chain.

The end to end inflight logistics process is lengthy, and each stage involves countless people and systems that draw on numerous data sources and information. In the assembly phase, for example, assemblers rely on packing lists, real-time flight information, labels, and other instructions from airlines, warehouses, and other stakeholders to pack the right drawer in the right trolley, in the right quantity, in the right order, and the right position. A bit further down the supply chain, uplifters perform a similar task: ensuring the right trolleys are loaded onto the right flights in the right positions, using flight schedules and galley instructions.

All along the supply chain, people, the systems they rely on, and information play an essential role in the inflight logistics process, from the warehouse - responsible for stocking food and materials - to the catering departments - who create complex meal and load plans. Complicating matters further is the fact that the aviation industry is a global one, with countless flights operating out of numerous airports, involving a multitude of stakeholders, systems, and information.

Due to this complexity, the inflight logistics process frequently results in many misalignments of information. As a result of the imperfect information, stakeholders regularly find that they are using different information. For example, an airline and an assembler may find they are working with different load plans, or the cabin crew may use a different loading inventory than the uplifters. Subsequently, incomplete, and inaccurate information for stakeholders along the supply chain ultimately leads to passengers not getting what they want and the airline wasting valuable resources.

Until recently, no solution has been successful at aligning the supply chain with all stakeholders and systems, and airlines largely accepted the resulting waste of resources. LimeFlight has broken this status quo and transformed the inflight logistics process by consolidating the entire supply chain into a real-time Single Point of Truth solution.

The Single Point of Truth

Aligning the supply chain has many advantages. Yet, the most crucial benefit is that all stakeholders, systems, and information converge in one central point. In doing so, LimeFlight covers the entire depth of the process, from granular data such as food and material catalogs to high-level information such as loading and meal plans. This depth of information means that airlines can drill down from an entire year's worth of flight data to the individual ingredients used on each flight. The software thus provides strategic, execution, and operational perspectives of the inflight logistics process.

At the same time, LimeFlight covers the entire spectrum of the supply chain, from warehouse to kitchen, from the kitchen to uplifter, and from uplifter to aircraft. As a result, the Single Point of Truth provides unparalleled data utilization and information sharing capabilities, eliminating miscommunication that leads to dissatisfied customers and a wasteful use of the airline’s resources.

Data Leverage

LimeFlight acts as a central data repository for the entire inflight logistics process, allowing airlines to share usually separate data points. Accordingly, consolidating data into one system provides countless opportunities for leverage. For example, LimeFlight knows the airline's inventory levels, so it can forecast and measure the impact of load plan changes on material requirements. Changing a load plan from twice a week to four times a week will significantly impact outstation inventory levels. Since LimeFlight has all this data, it can warn the airline when inventory is running low. As a result, costly and unnecessary item swaps, emergency deliveries, and unfulfilled load and meal plans can be avoided by leveraging the data from the entire end to end process.

One Truth

The Single Point of Truth is at the core of the inflight logistics process, allowing all stakeholders and systems to access the same, up-to-date information in real-time. In addition, the central source of information eliminates outdated communication methods such as emails and fax, in which stakeholders could not know if the information they were working with was current. In fact, with the Single Point of Truth, LimeFlight has eliminated outdated information. By providing just one truth, stakeholders can be sure they are working with the same information as the airline and other stakeholders.

Stop Upsetting Passengers and Wasting Resources

The advantages of the Single Point of Truth are obvious - all information is in one place, so airlines can use their data to their full advantage, and all stakeholders can work with the most up-to-date real-time information. The result is that everyone involved is on the same page, errors are avoided, and the airline no longer wastes money caused by inaccurate and outdated information. In addition, the Single Point of Truth offers a variety of benefits, such as:

• Preventing orders from being placed that cannot be fulfilled or requiring emergency deliveries or item substitutions to complete.
• Powerful data analytics, with all data along the process in one place.
• Ensures that users use the correct information when packing and stowing load and meal plans.
• Corroborates that the aircraft is catered as the airline intends.
• Speeds up the time and process of information sharing between all stakeholders.

Final Word

The inflight logistics process is undeniably complex - the supply chain is lengthy, and many people and systems are involved. In the past, the process was a patchwork of fragmented processes and systems, with imperfect information that led to dissatisfied passengers and wasteful use of resources. Wastefully, the costs incurred by this complexity were written off as an inevitable consequence of the practice.

Fortunately, by consolidating the end to end process and fully vertically integrating the inflight logistics supply chain from the warehouse to the sky, LimeFlight has developed an approach that removes complexity and saves the airline from wasting vast resources. With LimeFlight, airlines can move away from the outdated, fragmented approach to managing their inflight logistics process and leverage the world's only fully integrated end to end solution.

LimeFlight has revolutionized the inflight logistics supply chain, making it easier and more cost-effective than ever for airlines to cover the entire end to end process with one solution. Contact us if your supply chain is outdated, fragmented, and needs transformation.