You've got a warehouse full of parts and and a skilled team of technicians and warehouse staff. How do you let the market know what you have? Here's how.
Can you name two parts and repair capabilities listing services?
Most likely, you said ILS and PartsBase. That makes sense. They are the two largest listing services in aviation today. Most suppliers and repair shops are on one or the other, if not both. But what about other services? Are your products being seen by as many potential buyers as possible?
In this post, we’re going to break down a few of the other listing services and marketplaces for selling aircraft parts and repairs!
These are the two largest listing services in the industry at the moment. Each of these services host over 85 million line items and over 3.5 million repair capabilities. Spanning over 200 countries, these services are used by most aviation buyers and sellers (ILS & PartsBase).
There are dozens of listing services today -- too many to go through in one post. Here are just a few of the others to get you started:
Launched in 2007 by Component Control, StockMarket is a listing service included in Quantum Control's software maintenance agreement (SMA) subscription. You won’t find airlines searching for parts here, but many suppliers, sellers and brokers enjoy the service it provides.
Who is it best for?
Quantum Control users.
ePlane is a relatively new platform that is free for suppliers. Although smaller than other services, it is growing quickly. ePlane lets you purchase items, not just list and send RFQs. However, it requires you to quote on the site (not through email). In this respect, it is similar to Aeroxchange.
Who is it best for?
Suppliers looking to grow with airlines outside the US.
The #3 largest locator service, next to ILS and PartsBase. Since their inception in 2010, a majority of their engagement is in Europe and the Middle East (EMEA).
Who is it best for?
Suppliers looking to grow business in EMEA.
Aeroxchange is a legacy service that was created by a consortium of airlines in 2000. Like ePlane, it supports the full order lifecycle, not just RFQs/Quotes. This is one of the more complex systems, as it requires a lot of setup and integration.
Who is it best for?
Suppliers already doing business with airlines who are on Aeroxchange. Suppliers with IT teams able to integrate and setup the marketplace.
Best known for their “MRO Tracker” product to manage repairs, b2b-aero also runs a listings service with both capability and part listings. They currently list more than five million unique repair capabilities!
Who is it best for?
Repair shops.
A repair-focused listing service which touts an industry-leading number of repair capabilities. They are well-known in the repair community for the annual “Top Shop” awards. On The145, suppliers with faster response times are marked in the listings.
Who is it best for?
Repair shops.
Unlike other services, SkySelect has no listings. A buyer inputs a demand list, and SkySelect automatically sends RFQs to selected suppliers. All quoting is done through the SkySelect platform.
Who is it best for?
Suppliers doing business with Latin American airlines.
AVspares is a free and lightweight service that caters to parts. Listing here can be a good fit for suppliers with smaller marketing budgets, particularly those looking to improve their search-engine visibility (SEO). AVspares publicly indexes all part listings on Google and other search engines.
Who is it best for?
Distributors of rotables, expendables and tools.
That depends on what you are looking for. We usually recommend suppliers sign up for the free ones. There is no extra overhead for you, and more eyes on your products.
If you are looking to put your listings in front of the most eyes, ILS and PartsBase are good places to start. However, they come at a premium, and require a commitment.
If you do a lot of business with airlines already, Aeroxchange may make sense to automate some of that order flow.
If your business is looking to grow in EMEA, check out ePlane or Locatory.
For those looking to get the word out about your MRO services specifically, the145 or b2b-aero may be for you. You may even win an award!
Great question. The more services you use, the more opportunities you have to generate new business. However, this also means more time spent keeping listings up-to-date, and RFQs are answered, on each service.
Most marketplaces reward you for updating frequently, and place you on the first search results page when you do. Updating weekly is a great place to start, but updating daily is even better. When was the last time you went to page five on Amazon to buy something?
Yes, there are a couple ways to make this tedious process easier. Instead of a manual spreadsheet upload, you can purchase API bridges from your ERP vendor. These bridges automatically sync listings to each locator service, and/or let you answer RFQs from inside your ERP. These bridges can be expensive, sometimes costing thousands of dollars a year each. Because of the cost, you may need to prioritize which ones you implement.
Rotabull also offers a solution that automatically updates every one of your listing services every morning with all of your unique listing rules, including warehouse exclusions, quantity exclusions, etc. This saves time and makes sure listings are 100% accurate every single day. It also costs a fraction of what individual bridges do.
However you choose to manage your marketplaces, it’s good to go in with a plan for keeping them up-to-date, or you may not get the full value out of your subscriptions!
No one marketplace is going to be perfect for everyone. Some are expensive, some are free. Some have airlines, others don’t. Some focus on parts, others focus on repairs. Some are buyer focused, some are seller focused.
Do your homework and find the right options for you and come up with a game plan on how to manage your new marketplaces. A well-organized and frequently updated list can be quite valuable in creating new business and maintaining current relationships.
Learn more about the marketplaces Rotabull integrates with and and how it can work for you. Schedule a demo.
Happy selling!
