Ian Gurekian, founder and CEO of Avian Inventory Management.
A relative newcomer in the aftermarket parts space is chasing creative inventory solutions tailored to OEM needs. Initially gaining traction as a distributor for Embraer’s surplus spares inventory, Avian Inventory Management is now eyeing opportunities to develop similar partnerships with other OEMs.
“When I started Avian, I wasn’t setting out to become an Embraer-only distributor,” says Ian Gurekian, founder and CEO of Avian Inventory Management. He explains that after Boeing’s potential purchase of Embraer’s commercial jets division was scrapped in 2020, the OEM was “looking for a more holistic solution to their surplus spare parts inventory issue.”
“Embraer wants to focus on the customers—they don’t want to deal with peddling spare parts to the market,” he adds. “They were looking for somebody that could create an outlet for their surplus to move into markets differently than they had been doing historically, so that’s what we’ve done. We’ve set up a solution that was designed for Embraer, in this particular instance.”
Avian works with an OEM’s finance, sales and spare parts divisions to provide better access to buffer stock without utilizing the OEM’s own capital. “It’s a little bit 'bespoke.' I hate to use that word—it’s a bit goofy—but everyone has a different problem and we’re there to solve each one of them creatively,” Gurekian says. “Probably the biggest difference is we’re a capital company that is not afraid to touch metal.”
With Embraer, Avian purchased all of the OEM’s surplus spare parts material across commercial and executive jet platforms, consolidating it in a 70,000-ft.2 distribution center in Orlando that began operations in 2022. It currently holds 13 million Embraer parts, comprising 90,000 part numbers and over 210,000 line items. Avian’s inventory also now includes some Bombardier material.
The company uses AvSight software for inventory management and what Gurekian calls a “best in class” operation to photograph, catalog and attach paperwork to parts. Any necessary inspection, repair and overhaul processes are handled through Avian’s MRO network.
Gurekian says Avian has also started to “layer on” teardowns to be blended into its Embraer inventory, such as recent part-outs of two Embraer 170 aircraft and its acquisition in March of four General Electric CF34-10E turbofan engines which power the previous generation Embraer 190/195. Avian is also eyeing opportunities for consignments.
To handle sales of all this material, Avian has brought on several sales channel partners, including Aventure Aviation, C&L Aerospace, DASI, Regional Airline Support Group and VSE Aviation. “We set this up because I didn’t want to recreate the wheel. There are already people that do [part sales and distribution] well,” Gurekian says. “The benefit of that—and I think this is the real differentiator—is that I pick sales channel partners based on the inventory that I have at the time.” For instance, if Avian were to ink a defense-related deal, it would seek out sales channel partners with competence in that sector.
“The intent is to not get too bogged down with our own people and pretend that we can do everything really well,” Gurekian says. “I would like to be able to pivot at a moment’s notice and offer the same structure and layout to somebody that does a different type of business and put something in place for them.”
Now that Avian’s business is up and running smoothly, Gurekian says he is focused on “growing the business, letting it mature and showing other OEMs what’s possible as we do it.”
He adds: “I hope people start to see that we can do this across the board. As much as we love the relationship with Embraer, there’s no reason why this can’t be replicated.”
