Aeroparts Now (Booth N624) has launched an online marketplace for aircraft parts, equipment and supplies at NBAA 2017, and the site’s developers have grand ambitions for the portal. “The closest analogy,” said Owen Busch, co-founder and CEO, “is we’re the Amazon of aircraft parts.”
The Aeroparts Now site, which went live on Tuesday, intends to connect buyers and sellers of aviation products while providing all the digital tools required for secure online transactions. “The platform is designed for parts sellers to market anything from a screw up to an engine, or maybe an airplane some day,” Busch said. “It’s a flexible and scalable design with an intuitive interface, and we’re surrounding it with specific capabilities designed for aviation.”
For example, he said, “If you’re a parts buyer, you don’t want to just see new parts, but parts in all conditions, exchange sales and parts repairs. Our goal is to automate that workflow, providing traceability and accountability through each step.”
Busch and co-founder/COO Carl Helka acknowledge there are already sites where business and general aviation products can be found and purchased online, “but from our perspective, they don’t deliver the customer experience we’re trying to deliver,” said Busch.
The site already has “a very strong pipeline of sellers” assembled before Aeroparts Now went live, Helka said. It will also provide information on sellers incorporating customer comments, helping buyers compare and select from among the various offerings.
There’s no charge for vendors to list their wares on the site, but all will first be screened and audited. Michigan-based Aeroparts Now will earn its revenue via a fee on transactions. The company has partnered with Multi Service Technology Solutions, a division of World Fuel, to handle payment processing. Vendors interested in being on the site can register with Aeroparts Now at the NBAA show.
“We’re really tackling legacy dominated thinking that you have to have sales people and you need a high touch environment,” Busch said. “New shoppers and buyers would disagree. They want to have a touchless interaction.”
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