Technology services provider EDS and the PLM business unit of Siemens' Industry Automation group have entered into a partnership that provides a foundation for delivering turnkey performance-based logistic services (PBL) to the aerospace & defense (A&D) industry.
Focusing on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), the agreement will serve military defense operations that manage a fleet of complex long lifecycle assets, such as aircraft, weapon systems, ships, or any key capital equipment. Using Siemens PLM Software's Teamcenter software portfolio for PLM, which includes MRO, the duo will enable OEMs to track, measure, and manage the metrics around service contracts while easing administration of the IT infrastructure and security requirements.
Many aerospace OEMs, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are being pulled into new kinds of government contracts that require them to service their fleets from cradle to grave. In the past, defense organizations maintained the equipment themselves, so this change means OEMs must revamp the way they do business.
"We are seeing OEMs going from basic spare [parts] with some support to having to take a performance- based logistics approach, which is like a service-level agreement," said Joan Davies, EDS' aerospace & defense segment leader, in an interview with Managing Automation.