Prestwick, Scotland.... BAE Systems Regional Aircraft announced today at the Airline Purchasing Expo in London that its ‘Spares Co-op’ scheme has taken off with some 17 of its biggest airline customers and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) organisations now signed up.

The programme, which is believed to be unique in the commercial aviation market, focuses on continuing spares business and it rewards customers who buy spares frequently, with credits allocated at the end of the financial year.

David Morrison, Head of Sales and Marketing at Regional Aircraft said: “In essence, the system is much like a supermarket club card. It involves our area sales managers (ASMs) sitting down at the beginning of the financial year with the customer and assessing what they are likely to spend over the twelve months. As the customer buys spares throughout the year and starts to get close to that figure they begin to earn a rebate. Once they hit or go beyond their target they start getting even bigger rewards.

“Our financial year ends in December and we begin reconciling the rebates during February and March when customers start getting presented with their promotional ‘cheques’. These set out how much they have earned and can use in the coming year to buy Regional Aircraft products.”

The Spares Co-op is based around a concept that is extensively used in other sectors of industry and which has been developed to a sophisticated level in the UK. David Morrison explained: “From the customer perspective there is no penalty if they don’t achieve the sales target, but great rewards when they do. What’s more, there’s little effort required on their part. Naturally, we do all the administration and keep customers up to date with how much they’ve spent to date. The ASM they deal with will have a monthly account management meeting where all the appropriate figures are available.”

The programme is fully customised with some client rewards based on fixed scales and others having variable rates.

By the first quarter of 2009 around 17 customers had signed up to the programme and the plan is to roll it out to around 20 customers in total.

Regional Aircraft has plans to enhance the Spares Co-op scheme even further and anticipates making announcements about new developments in the programme around the middle of this year.

About BAE SYSTEMS

BAE Systems is the premier global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 97,500 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £15.7 billion (US$ $31.4 billion) in 2007.

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BAE Systems
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