MRO inventory management software for a Part 145 shop

Good MRO inventory management software answers one question before a job starts: can this wheel or brake build today? AirOne answers it from the stock record itself. Every line carries its quantity, batch and expiry date. So the planner sees the shortage before the customer does.

What MRO inventory management software has to hold

It holds one register: what the shop has, where it came from, and whether a job may use it. 14 CFR 145.109(a) says a repair station must have the materials its work needs on the premises. They must also stay under its control during the work. 14 CFR 145.211(c) then asks the quality control manual to describe how the shop inspects incoming raw materials.

On the EASA side, point 145.A.42 of Part-145 asks an approved maintenance organisation to classify and segregate its components. Consumable material counts too, with paperwork tying it to a specification and a source. That is the register MRO inventory management software has to keep.

Three kinds of stock in one aviation parts inventory register

A wheel and brake shop holds awkward stock. Consumables such as lockwire and O-rings arrive in batches. Shelf-life items such as greases and sealants expire on a date. Rotables and serialized hardware keep coming back. Each kind needs its own rule, yet all three live in one register.

So a planner reads one screen, not three binders. That is the difference between MRO inventory software and a stock sheet.

Min/max thresholds and reorder alerts that fire before zero

Set a minimum and a maximum on any line. Once stock falls to the minimum, AirOne raises a reorder alert. Because it fires at the threshold, not at zero, purchasing still has room to act. The maximum stops the opposite habit, the over-order that ties up cash.

The alert is a prompt, not a purchase order. AirOne does not raise orders or hold supplier records; the buyer still does the buying.

Shelf-life control the job can see

Shelf-life control is the first job for MRO inventory management software in a wheel shop. Every shelf-life line carries its expiry date, so items near expiry surface while the shop can still use them. Nobody discovers a dead tin of sealant halfway through a build.

AC 145-9A asks whether a repair station manual describes how the shop maintains shelf-life inventory, and how it identifies and controls shelf-life material. A date on a tin answers neither question. A date on the stock line, read at the job task, answers both. Our post on Part 145 record-keeping for component shops covers the shelf-life log.

Batch and lot tracking with the incoming certificate

Every receipt records its batch or lot number with the incoming certificate. That link then follows the material when a job task draws it from stores. So an auditor asking where a batch went gets the answer from the register, not the filing cabinet. For serialized parts, the same receipt starts the serial history that ends at release.

Under 14 CFR 145.219(c), the records that show compliance with part 43 stay for at least two years. The clock starts when the shop approves the article for return to service. So the batch line stays with the job it fed for as long as that record lives.

MRO inventory management software and quarantine: where the register stops

Quarantine is a stores-room task. Point 145.A.42 asks for unserviceable and unsalvageable components to sit apart from serviceable stock, and no software moves a part to that shelf. AirOne keeps the register: batch, certificate, expiry and quantity. It does not run a bonded store.

Much aviation parts inventory software targets an airline’s stores, with procurement and sales modules on top. A wheel shop needs the register to be right on audit morning. Our MRO software guide covers what a quarantine status should do in any system.

Inside the MRO inventory management software: catalogue, batch, bin

Three records carry the register. A catalogue line defines the part: number, description, manufacturer, unit of measure, minimum stock and nominal stock. A batch is one receipt against that line, with its supplier, its certificate and its quantity. Each batch then splits into a serviceable and a non-serviceable side, so the fit and the unfit never share a number. The serviceable side holds the shelf-life date, the bin and its own tag.

Bins make the segregation real. A bin belongs to a location, and no quantity above zero may sit outside one. Quarantine bins carry a code that starts with Q. Because the register knows both facts, the issuing step can refuse: AirOne blocks a pick from a quarantine bin, and blocks any batch already past its shelf-life date. So an expired tin never reaches a job task, even on a busy morning.

MRO inventory management software from a working shop

AirOne MRO is developed inside a working EASA Part 145 wheel and brake shop. Stock control here started as a spreadsheet that never knew a tin had expired until somebody opened it.

Frequently asked questions