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Kearsley Airways Ltd

www.kalair.uk

Kearsley Airways are one of the leading companies in the aerospace component repair sector. Established for over 60 years, Kearsley prides itself on its ability to adapt to the many disciplines involved in providing a total in-house capability from receiving components to their completion.

Kearsley operate from a well-equipped 45,000 square feet engineering facility based at London Stansted Airport. Their capability list is extensive and they have achieved approved European warranty repair facility status with many OEM’s – an indication of the level of their expertise.

Martin Bowman, Managing Director at Kearsley has an unrivalled knowledge of the company, its people and processes. In 2008 he began the search for a modern, commercial ‘off-the-shelf’ replacement to the existing in-house bespoke system, which was causing a variety of issues. Martin says:

“The software we were using was tailored to our requirements, but was limited in terms of functionality, particularly in relation to integration, finances and reporting. It also presented a significant risk as the software could not realistically be upgraded and was supported by an individual.”

“I was sceptical that we would find all that we were looking for within a single application, and certainly not one in the SME price bracket. I expected to have to make compromises, but found that Aerotrac ticked all the boxes as a replacement – a single industry-standard version with functionality designed to cover all the business processes. The accessibility of data and real-time links to our accounting software were a particular bonus”.

Kearsley went live with Aerotrac in April 2009, almost a year after completing the selection process.

“The implementation went extremely well. Although very happy with the software, I chose to delay the initial planned Go-Live, sensing that we were not quite ready. Aerotrac is a very process-led software. It has functions that really mirror what we do, so it was crucial to make sure that everyone knew what they were doing, when they were supposed to do it and what the outcome would be. We spent a lot of time preparing and running through scenarios. In retrospect that was time very well spent.”

Aerotrac has greatly exceeded the benefits that Kearsley had envisaged. The primary aim of reducing risks by implementing a supportable, robust application was quickly realised. There were also a host of additional benefits that Kearsley had not initially anticipated. “I’m very hands-on within the business and one of the biggest bonuses for me is being able to view key information quickly and without fuss. Previously this might have taken hours. This is an important facet of our business. Aerotrac helps us in portraying an accurate image to the customer about our level of professionalism and control.”

“Aerotrac has had a hugely positive effect on our business, enabling us to do more with less. We increased productivity and lost a number of staff through natural wastage with no adverse impact on the business whatsoever. We were able to re-deploy support staff to roles that added greater value. We have significantly reduced our overheads as a result, such that Aerotrac has paid for itself many times over.”

We were able to re-deploy support staff to roles that added greater value. We have significantly reduced our overheads as a result, such that Aerotrac has paid for itself many times over.