Global Operations Take Flight! Acloudear Successfully Implements a New Digital Engine for the World’s Leading Aircraft Engineering Giant

Every time we soar safely through the clouds and arrive at our destination, it is thanks to a vast and intricate guardian—the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) system.

What exactly is MRO? It functions as the aircraft’s equivalent of a top-tier hospital, ensuring this intricate machine—comprising millions of components—remains in peak condition at all times, thereby guaranteeing flight safety.

Within this industry demanding the utmost in safety, quality, and efficiency, one enterprise established in 1950 has consistently led the global charge…

When Data Struggles to Keep Pace with Aircraft Speed

It ranks among the world’s foremost providers of aircraft engineering and maintenance services, boasting an extensive operational footprint spanning airframe maintenance, line services, engine overhaul, component manufacturing, and technical training. Since its inception, the group has expanded globally, operating dozens of subsidiaries across mainland China, Hong Kong, Europe, and the United States, employing over 15,000 staff.

Yet rapid expansion brought complex management challenges. As operations flourished across multiple global locations, the enterprise found itself trapped in a ‘digital silo’ dilemma. Core challenges centred on several areas:

1.Disconnected systems, fragmented processes

Within its core aircraft engine maintenance operations, front-end specialised MRO systems operated entirely independently from back-end financial systems. Data could not flow automatically, creating significant operational bottlenecks.

2.Data fragmentation hindering insights

Regional subsidiaries utilised outdated systems from different eras, scattering data across locations. Compiling consolidated management reports at headquarters proved exceedingly time-consuming and often unfeasible. This compromised financial data accuracy and transparency while depriving senior leadership of timely data-driven decision support.

3.Global compliance and cost pressures

Amidst ongoing global market expansion, the company requires a localised financial system capable of meeting diverse national tax and accounting regulations. The existing system is clearly inadequate, failing to support strategic demands for global compliance and cost optimisation.

These issues functioned as invisible chains, shackling the agility of this global giant. Group executives found this situation deeply troubling, urgently requiring a unified solution to break down barriers and consolidate global resources.

Following in-depth analysis and research by the Acloudear team, it became clear that the group required not merely a new system, but a digital core capable of supporting its global strategy for the next decade – one combining standardised rapid deployment with robust integration capabilities.

Guided by this vision, Acloudear designed an SAP Cloud ERP solution. This approach embeds industry-leading best practices to minimise custom development, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery. Its cloud-native architecture and robust BTP integration platform perfectly align with the group’s strategic goals: seamless integration with existing MRO systems and laying the foundation for future adoption of emerging technologies like AI.

The Journey of Transformation Takes Flight

The client’s digital transformation project commenced in April 2024, with the ambitious target of launching the UK entity by August and the US entity by October that same year – a timeline widely regarded within the industry as an ‘impossible task’.

Yet through the close collaboration between the client’s and Acloudear’s teams, a miracle occurred, albeit one fraught with challenges.

The integration of the MRO system with the financial system presented the project’s greatest technical challenge. Supported by the client’s IT team and led by experts from Acloudear and SAP, the two core systems were successfully interconnected and their processes integrated using the SAP BTP platform, laying a solid foundation for business-finance integration.

Moreover, this was a truly global project spanning multiple time zones across Europe, America, and Asia. Team members frequently worked extended hours to coordinate across regions, deliver training, and manage technical interfaces. Both teams demonstrated exceptional resilience and initiative, successfully navigating the challenges of cultural integration and remote collaboration.

Ultimately, the launch of the new system has equipped this industry leader with a cutting-edge digital engine, delivering outcomes that far exceeded expectations:

1.The most tangible improvement lies in management reporting efficiency: consolidated management reports that previously required at least two working days now take just half a working day, representing a remarkable 75% increase in overall efficiency.

2.Data flow has been fully integrated from front-end operations to back-end finance, achieving end-to-end data synchronisation and process consolidation.

3.It eliminated the previous reliance on external suppliers for financial processing, effectively reducing operational costs.

As the Group’s Technology Project Manager remarked:

‘If I had to describe this transformation in one word, I’d choose “metamorphosis”. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, the process was painful, but we’ve ultimately gained entirely new “wings”!’

This successful “metamorphosis” owes much to the client’s foresight, the flexibility and reliability of SAP’s public cloud solution, and the comprehensive support of a seasoned implementation partner like Acloudear.

This success story from the global aerospace engineering services group undoubtedly provides an invaluable blueprint for traditional enterprises seeking digital breakthroughs amidst the wave of globalisation.

This article "Global Operations Take Flight! Acloudear Successfully Implements a New Digital Engine for the World’s Leading Aircraft Engineering Giant" by AcloudEAR. We focus on business applications such as cloud ERP.

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