In a world of just-in-time supply chain management where fewer companies carry large stocks of inventory, Heli-Mart Inc. is a bit of a throwback.
Like the neighborhood hardware store of an earlier era that always seemed to have the right bolt or the rare-sized washer, the company has built a reputation for solving the needs of helicopter operators worldwide.
“The industry in general has gotten away from keeping large quantities of spares,” Ed Brown, Heli-Mart’s low-key president, admits. “We have taken the opposite approach. Obviously you can’t have everything–and we have back orders and delays like everyone else–but to the best of our control we try to make sure no one runs out of something, including us. So having a large inventory to draw from, keeping up on the latest parts and putting more away than the normal company would, that has been our focus.”
Over 40 years, Heli-Mart has leveraged its location adjacent to Orange County’s John Wayne Airport in Costa Mesa, California to meet a customer demand that extends from Asia to South America and across the North American continent.
Built on a motto of “any part, any time, any place,” Heli-Mart emphasizes almost around the clock customer service that is executed with Brown’s personal philosophy of responding with “a sense of urgency.” No matter where a customer is located or what time the request comes in, or what part they require–a bearing, an engine, or a window–spares can be on the road or on a flight from nearby Los Angeles International Airport in short order.
“We are pretty much available 24/7,” he said. “So if you need something on a Sunday morning or a Friday at midnight, we’ve got the ability to take care of it. And we can expedite to almost anywhere. It is hands-on customer service–we take care of it ourselves.”
Though the company has had a longstanding relationship with MD Helicopters–it serves as an official distributor for the MD product line–its inventory includes parts for Bell, Airbus, Sikorsky, Magellan and Rolls-Royce, among many others.
It also includes rare parts few others carry. Brown hesitates to cite examples, but admits he has some spares that may have permanent homes on his shelves. “We stock a lot of miscellaneous items for a lot of manufacturers, and we have a pretty good inventory of really obscure stuff.”
And word of that inventory is spreading. One reason for the company’s global reach has been the rapid growth of online inquiries. While Heli-Mart has had an international dimension for decades, “the Internet made it even more so,” Brown said. “We are getting contacts from all corners of the world. Before, they might have hesitated to make the long distance call, but an email is free.”
While the volume of inquiries has doubled in recent years, Heli-Mart still strives for a personal touch. Brown said one of Heli-Mart’s strengths is the experience of its people, many of whom have been with the company for over 20 years, so the website has been designed to connect prospective customers with staff who can quickly solve a problem, whether it is a question about a part or how to ship an engine anywhere in the world.
“We’ve tried to break down as many barriers between the customer and our people as possible to try to get that dialogue, whether it be through the new website or via phone call,” explained Kyle Brown, Heli-Mart’s marketing manager. “Our salespeople have so much knowledge of the parts and what you may or may not need, that getting that point of contact established is really important for us.”
Part of Heli-Mart’s corporate knowledge about parts and what to maintain in inventory comes from its relationship with California Aero Components (CAC), a wholly owned subsidiary located nearby that provides full component repair and overall. CAC not only expands the company’s overall offerings, especially for MD Helicopters and Sikorsky S-300 models, it also provides additional in-house expertise about lifecycle management of various airframes and which parts are most likely to need replacing.
“It certainly helps us track what we are going to sell and what we will need to have on the shelf,” Brown said. “Having access to that is one of the things that makes us a better company.”
Heli-Mart’s emphasis on personal customer service and a wide-ranging inventory might seem at odds with today’s streamlined supply chain models. But when many of your customers have stayed loyal for over 25 years, you don’t change; you capitalize on the global reach of the Internet and make your personal approach better known.
Whether it is a New York air ambulance in need of a part on a Friday night, or an offshore transport requiring a new engine in Southeast Asia, Heli-Mart has a simple response: call us, we can help.
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