Crescent Named Best Value Chain Solutions Provider

Crescent was recently honored with the award for Best Value Chain Solutions Provider for our work with General Electric Aviation on the Shadow Kit project.

The supply chain challenge was to design an “error proof” method for delivering aircraft engine parts directly to the engine assembly line. Crescent and GE Aviation, working together, designed a die cut shadow kit with a photo overlay picking process that made it easy to pick and verify parts exceeding six sigma levels for quality and accuracy in delivery. Additionally, the kitting process eliminated valuable time and costly plant labor used to receive, verify, stock and then pick parts for engine assembly and the costly errors associated with picking the wrong part.

Since its implementation in May of 2008, Crescent has shipped over 818,000 lines with only five defects (three of those defects occurred within the first three months). The GE/Crescent partnership began in 1999 with a focus on providing an efficient supply chain for “C” parts. This relationship from its early stages was designed with six sigma quality systems, lean supply chain concepts, costs savings targets and annual deflationary pricing. GE partnered with Crescent in establishing its first Black Belt Certified associate and AS 9120 and ISO 9001 Certified Quality Systems. Crescent has successfully delivered deflationary pricing for the past nine years.

Core to the GE/Crescent relationship is a focus on improving the cost per line, which measures costs relative to volume. Since 2003 this cost has been reduced by 50%, while DPMO (defects per million opportunities) has improved by 75% and overall volume has increased by nearly 200%. This has allowed GE to focus more of its investment dollars away from the “C” Part supply chain.

The overreaching benefit of this method is value creation through having a world class supply chain capable of handling increased transactions with annual cost savings and guaranteed year over year price deflation.