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Blog | June 2, 2026
Advanced planning in multi-level production networks in aviation and aerospace
Historically, the aviation industry has primarily been concerned with demand volatility, economic downturns and order cancellations. Today, the situation has fundamentally reversed. Driven by increased global mobility and the rise of low-cost carriers, air travel demand has surged worldwide.
Commercial aviation is facing a period of growth. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, passenger traffic rebounded far faster than expected, accelerating the need for new aircraft.1 In 2025, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Airbus and Boeing held order backlogs of roughly 8,750 and 6,100 aircraft respectively.2,3 At current production rates, these backlogs represent approximately a decade of production already sold.
The core challenge is no longer generating demand; it is synchronizing execution across deeply interconnected, capacity-constrained supply networks. Implementing advanced planning in multi-level production networks in aviation and aerospace offers a strategic pathway forward. By redesigning processes and integrating advanced planning systems (APS), organizations can gain visibility, manage capacity bottlenecks and build the supply chain resilience required for aviation and aerospace organizations to support future production ramp-ups.
The unique challenges of aviation and aerospace production
Challenges
- Challenges
Manufacturer-supplier dynamics
Manufacturer-supplier dynamics
Aerospace supply chains are characterized by highly specialized, deeply tiered supplier networks. The number of viable suppliers for critical systems and components is often limited due to regulatory requirements, engineering complexity and high barriers to entry. As a result, production ramp-ups cannot simply be mandated downstream. Instead, planners must closely coordinate demand planning, capacity management and production schedules across multi-tier supplier networks.
Capacity bottlenecks
Capacity bottlenecks
Modern aircraft contain millions of individual parts sourced through highly specialized supplier ecosystems. Disruptions at lower-tier suppliers can rapidly cascade across entire production programs. For instance, engine manufacturing remains a major potential bottleneck whenever shortages of raw materials like titanium or crucial components like semiconductors occur early in the supply chain.4 Many of these suppliers are already operating close to their existing capacity limits. Expanding output therefore requires either substantial investment in additional capacity or significant efficiency gains – this is precisely where advanced supply chain planning comes into play.
Legacy systems
Legacy systems
Many of today’s core ERP and planning environments were originally designed for comparatively stable production rates and less integrated supplier networks. However, modern aircraft programs involve hundreds of thousands of components moving across multiple production tiers. Meanwhile, supply chain volatility requires significantly greater coordination and transparency. Advances in planning technologies, data integration and analytical capabilities now enable organizations to move beyond siloed, spreadsheet-based planning.5
Fragmented data
Fragmented data
Master data quality can suffer from fragmented IT landscapes. Planners often deal with incorrect bills of materials (BOMs), outdated lead times and duplicate supplier records scattered across disconnected ERP, PLM and MES platforms. When planners lose trust in the central system, they naturally revert to managing operations on disconnected Excel files. Even the smartest planning software will yield poor results if it is fed with inaccurate data.
Manufacturer-supplier dynamics
Aerospace supply chains are characterized by highly specialized, deeply tiered supplier networks. The number of viable suppliers for critical systems and components is often limited due to regulatory requirements, engineering complexity and high barriers to entry. As a result, production ramp-ups cannot simply be mandated downstream. Instead, planners must closely coordinate demand planning, capacity management and production schedules across multi-tier supplier networks.
Capacity bottlenecks
Modern aircraft contain millions of individual parts sourced through highly specialized supplier ecosystems. Disruptions at lower-tier suppliers can rapidly cascade across entire production programs. For instance, engine manufacturing remains a major potential bottleneck whenever shortages of raw materials like titanium or crucial components like semiconductors occur early in the supply chain.4 Many of these suppliers are already operating close to their existing capacity limits. Expanding output therefore requires either substantial investment in additional capacity or significant efficiency gains – this is precisely where advanced supply chain planning comes into play.
Legacy systems
Many of today’s core ERP and planning environments were originally designed for comparatively stable production rates and less integrated supplier networks. However, modern aircraft programs involve hundreds of thousands of components moving across multiple production tiers. Meanwhile, supply chain volatility requires significantly greater coordination and transparency. Advances in planning technologies, data integration and analytical capabilities now enable organizations to move beyond siloed, spreadsheet-based planning.5
Fragmented data
Master data quality can suffer from fragmented IT landscapes. Planners often deal with incorrect bills of materials (BOMs), outdated lead times and duplicate supplier records scattered across disconnected ERP, PLM and MES platforms. When planners lose trust in the central system, they naturally revert to managing operations on disconnected Excel files. Even the smartest planning software will yield poor results if it is fed with inaccurate data.
Transitioning to advanced planning
Creating a strong foundation for digital tools
Advanced planning systems like Kinaxis Maestro™ or SAP IBP are becoming increasingly important as aviation and aerospace production networks grow more interconnected. Traditional sequential planning approaches often struggle to manage long lead times, cascaded planning dependencies and effort-intensive coordination. In many aerospace environments, several major assemblies may depend on a single constrained component, which makes synchronized planning and rapid scenario evaluation critical.
The initial effort must focus on cleaning master data and designing state-of-the-art process chains. Furthermore, organizational change management is critical. Planners must be brought onboard early to ensure that they understand how the new system replaces manual workarounds and directly improves their daily operations.
Step-by-step integration
Advanced planning unifies a supply chain from end to end. With an APS, a single demand signal becomes visible from the OEM all the way down to tier-three suppliers. When demand or production changes occur, updated signals can be propagated much more rapidly across the network.
Achieving end-to-end integration remains challenging due to a combination of technical, organizational and governance-related barriers. For instance, varying digital maturity makes standardized data exchange and synchronized planning across multiple production tiers difficult. Additionally, internal interface ownership is often vague, with procurement managing the supplier relationship while planning manages the schedule. Rather than attempting a large-scale deployment all at once, many companies find success by starting small and scaling incrementally.
The role of AI and digital twins
Artificial intelligence offers compelling possibilities for aviation and aerospace manufacturing, but it must be applied to a solid foundation of clean data, network visibility and stakeholder alignment. Once an end-to-end APS is established, it can start laying that foundation, on top of which a supply chain digital twin can be built over time. From there, further optimization potential can be unlocked with AI applications that support automated procurement and inventory analysis, long-term forecasting and production scheduling, and accelerated scenario analysis during disruptions.6
Securing supply chain resilience for the next decade
The aviation and aerospace industry cannot meet its massive delivery targets using the tools of the past. Transitioning away from fragmented data and siloed spreadsheets requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses technology, process design and people.
By prioritizing advanced planning, organizations can synchronize operations across intricate production networks, better manage capacity constraints and foster stronger supplier collaborations. Companies ready to redesign their planning frameworks should start by evaluating their current data health and mapping the critical bottlenecks within their existing processes. Taking these foundational steps today will secure the operational resilience needed to lead tomorrow's market.
Ready to rethink the planning foundation that your network is built on?
Authors
Jan-Niklas Grafe
Principal
4flow
Jonathan Lorenz
Senior Consultant
4flow
Christoph Gaumann
Principal
4flow
Sources
1International Air Transport Association (IATA). Air Travel Reaches 99% of 2019 Levels as Recovery Continues in November. Press Release No. 2, January 10, 2024. Available at: https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2024-releases/2024-01-10-01/
2Airbus. Airbus Reports Full-Year (FY) 2025 Results. February 2026. Available at: https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-02-airbus-reports-full-year-fy-2025-results
3Boeing. Boeing Reports First Quarter Results. April 22, 2026. Available at: https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2026-04-22-Boeing-Reports-First-Quarter-Results
4United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). Commercial Aviation: Supply Chain Challenges Lead to Aircraft Manufacturing Delays. GAO-24-106493, 2024. Available at: https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106493.pdf
5International Air Transport Association (IATA). Reviving the Commercial Aircraft Supply Chain. 2024. Available at: https://www.iata.org/contentassets/85b59d951fc04c1c83fa2aab47824300/reviving-the-commercial-aircraft-supply-chain.pdf
6Aviation Week Network. Optimizing Aerospace Supply Chain with AI & Big Data. Available at: https://aviationweek.com/mro/optimizing-aerospace-supply-chain-ai-big-data