Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) offers the potential to shift the way people and goods move through the air. AAM manufacturers — who produce advanced manned and unmanned vehicles and drones — are engaged in fierce competition to become pioneers in this emerging field. But are AAM manufacturers ready to lead in their respective product segments? And how should existing aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers react?
Industry players will need to overcome eight challenges to meet the rapidly-expanding sector and the pressures of growing production needs:
- Understand the Pace of Growth in Innovation and Investment
- Find Creative Solutions to Ensure Suppliers Can Meet Demand
- Adopt New Approaches to Rapidly Scale Production
- Prepare for Disruption Among Incumbent Players
- Develop Solutions to Establish and Ensure Certification Requirements
- Optimize Maintenance Repair and Operations Support
- Take a Lesson Learned from the Electric Vehicle Automotive Industry
- Prepare for the Future of AAM through Investment, Capital and Plant Footprint Strategies.
Preparing for the AAM Future
- Investment Strategy: How should you diversify your portfolio? Where should you invest, when should you act, which capabilities should you prioritize and what volume should you project?
- Capital Needs: How much investment will be required and is warranted to scale operations at pace and deliver the projected production volumes? What is the financing strategy to support this?
- Manufacturing Footprint Configuration: Given the rapidly changing AAM environment, how are you flexibly configuring your physical infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities?
- Business Process Adaptation: What business processes and product development methodologies are you implementing to ensure responsiveness and adaptability?
How A&M Can Help
Manufacturers should embrace agility, and A&M has partnered with clients to configure their manufacturing capabilities to support flexible production processes. Read the article’s case study to learn how this strategy supports the ability to quickly iterate design changes while deploying digital and automation systems to enhance operational efficiency.
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