Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) and Parker Aerospace Group (Parker) have successfully rolled out a revolutionary blockchain platform for back-to-birth track and trace of aircraft parts.

Using SkyThread’s Blockchain-based parts data sharing platform, AFI KLM E&M has access to the history of each new and repaired Parker aircraft part, from its inception (new) to its installation on and removals from supported 787 fleets.

The first go-live has now been reached on the 787 platform, with hundreds of thousands of parts being actively tracked and traced using the SkyThread data-sharing platform.

This achievement follows an announcement in 2023 that both companies would collaborate with SkyThread to ensure enhanced visibility and a complete event history throughout the lifecycle of aircraft parts on and off the aircraft.

For Parker, SkyThread’s solution ensures that serialised part data are easily accessible and traceable, both on and off aircraft enabling reductions in repair turnaround and other response times, and enhancing supply chain performance through better demand planning for spares and repair volumes.

The two companies, together with SkyThread, expect to further grow their coverage and usage of the platform. More entities are also expected to join the platform to continuously add part event data leading to additional value for all parties of the community involved.

AFI KLM E&M and Parker have begun loading data for more than two million aircraft part events to the platform – part birth, installation and removal, component repair, and logistics.

Jeff Smith, head of digital product programmes at Parker, said: “This is a significant milestone for the aviation industry. Never have an operator and a tier-1 OEM been able to share this depth of data.

“By leveraging Blockchain technology, we can establish a comprehensive aircraft parts track and trace solution that ensures complete transparency and traceability of our parts. The system will also provide our valued customers the assurance of part authenticity through access to full part history.”

Benoît Rollier, vice president of engineering at KLM Engineering & Maintenance, said: “We are proud to be at the forefront of innovation in the aviation industry. Our partnership with Parker Aerospace Group and the implementation of this groundbreaking track and trace solution enabled by Blockchain technology will revolutionise the way we ensure the authenticity and reliability of our parts.”

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