HAECO Group has joined forces with leading industry partners to launch the MRO Blockchain Alliance: the air transport sector’s first industry-wide partnership to investigate the use of blockchain technology to track, trace and record aircraft parts. The new alliance includes leading organisations representing every aspect of the MRO chain, from parts manufacture and repairs, to logistics and smart contracts. The partnership is expected to enhance efficiency in parts tracking, and could also enable the secure sharing of information between industry players, for better cross-industry visibility over the lifecycle of aircraft parts.

Blockchain Alliance members include Bolloré Logistics, Cathay Pacific Airways, aircraft-data firm FLYdocs, the HAECO Group, Ramco Systems, SITA, and Willis Lease Finance Corporation, and is supported by global law firm Clyde & Co.

The formation of the Alliance was first mooted at a HAECO conference last year, with the aim of bringing stakeholders together to set a global standard around the use of blockchain to trace parts. The tracking information will be vital in managing a complex logistics value chain that can include multiple stakeholders over the lifetime of each individual part. The Alliance will initially present 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 industry players.

Blockchain technology is used to develop an encrypted database, where a growing chain of transaction records and data blocks are verifiable, date-stamped and indelible, creating a secure set of read-only records.