This archive report was first published on 21 April 2020.
On April 21, 2020, key global aviation industry players launched the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Blockchain Alliance to investigate the use of blockchain in tracking, tracing, and recording aircraft parts.
The alliance, first mooted in 2019, brings together stakeholders to set a global standard around the use of blockchain to track spare parts. Members include Bolloré Logistics, Cathay Pacific, FLYdocs, HAECO Group, Ramco Systems, Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA), and Willis Lease Finance Corporation, supported by Clyde and Co.
The alliance aims to cover every aspect of the MRO chain, from part manufacture and repairs to logistics and smart contracts. A smart contract is a digital pact containing the terms of agreement between a buyer and a seller, directly written into lines of code and existing across a distributed, decentralized blockchain network.
"In the coming months, our alliance will launch a proof of concept to demonstrate the use of blockchain to digitally track and record the movements and maintenance history of parts across a wide number of players," reads a statement seen by the Business Daily.
The alliance believes that the use of blockchain will simplify and speed up parts tracking while enabling the secure sharing of information between industry stakeholders. Currently, there is no global database, leading to incomplete data sharing and only partial digitalization.
"The alliance will use blockchain to record and track two separate strands of information for each aircraft part: a digital thread and a digital passport," reads the statement.
