How Can AI Improve Parts Purchasing Decisions in Smart 145?
In aviation MRO operations, purchasing decisions can directly affect repair turnaround time, customer delivery commitments, and overall shop efficiency. A missing part can hold up a repair, increase Work Order cycle time, and impact customer satisfaction, which is why purchasing teams need a clear and efficient way to compare vendor options before creating a Purchase Order.
The Smart Procurement sub-module in Smart 145 helps purchasing teams review vendor options in one consolidated view, compare historical quotes and purchases, understand why a vendor may be a strong option, apply company-specific selection rules, and use AI-assisted analysis to support faster sourcing decisions. By combining system data, purchasing history, and AI recommendations, Smart Procurement helps users make more informed purchasing decisions while keeping the procurement workflow connected to Smart 145.
How Smart Procurement Works
From the Purchase Order module, users can access the Smart Procurement sub-module. In this view, users can search and filter purchasing needs by Vendor, Part Number, or Description. The system displays the current quantity needed for the selected part and shows how many vendors can cover the required quantity based on existing RFQ or Purchase Order history in Smart 145.
For each vendor, the system provides a consolidated view of the possible purchasing options they can offer, including information such as:
Vendor Name
Part Number and Description
Quantity needed
Evidence available, such as purchase or quote history
Last quote, when available
Last paid price, when available
Estimated lead time
Estimated total
This gives purchasing teams a clearer view of their options before creating a Purchase Order.
Vendor Comparison and Sorting Options
Smart Procurement lets users organize vendor options by different sorting criteria, helping them compare vendors based on the factor that matters most for the current purchase decision. For example, one situation may require the lowest estimated total, while another may prioritize a vendor that can cover all required parts or has a stronger purchase history.
AI-Based Vendor Recommendation
Smart Procurement provides AI-based support to help users evaluate vendor options and understand the reasoning behind each recommendation. The feature includes two levels of analysis: an explanation for each vendor option and a broader recommendation for the best vendor selection among the available candidates.
When reviewing a specific vendor option, users can click the Explain with AI button to see why the system considers that vendor a good candidate. This helps users understand the reasoning behind each vendor option instead of only seeing price or availability details. The AI explanation may consider factors such as:
Whether the vendor covers the full part requirement
Previous purchase history
Last paid price
Estimated total
Lead time
Recent quote or purchase activity
Whether there are missing price items or stronger alternatives
Users can also click AI Select Vendors to ask the system to recommend the best vendor option among the available candidates. When this option is selected, Smart 145 generates an AI Vendor Selection section with a recommended vendor and an explanation of why that vendor was selected based on the available information and configured rules. The recommendation may include:
The selected vendor
Location
Parts covered
Estimated total
Estimated unit cost
Reasoning behind the recommendation
Alternative vendors when applicable
From this section, users can review the recommendation, compare it with other vendor options, and create a Purchase Order directly from the selected recommendation. The AI-generated analysis should be used as decision support, and users should always verify the information before creating a Purchase Order.
If the user decides to use a different supplier than the one suggested by the AI, they can click Other vendors to review the available alternatives for that part. After selecting the desired vendor, the system will ask the user to confirm that the selected part should be moved to that vendor’s purchase list. Once confirmed, the part is reassigned to the selected supplier, allowing the user to manually organize the sourcing decision before creating the Purchase Order.
This gives purchasing teams flexibility to use the AI recommendation as decision support while still keeping control over the final vendor selection. Users should always verify the information before creating a Purchase Order.
AI Selection Rules
Smart Procurement also allows users to define the rules that guide the AI vendor selection process. By clicking Rules, users can review and configure the criteria the AI should follow when selecting vendors. These rules are evaluated in priority order from top to bottom. After updating the rules, users can save them so the AI applies those priorities in the next selection run.
Examples of selection rules may include:
Prefer the vendor with the shortest reliable lead time when the need-by date is at risk.
Prefer the vendor the company last purchased the part from, unless another quote is significantly cheaper.
Prefer recent evidence over older evidence.
Penalize vendors with expired certifications unless no clean alternative exists.
Prefer consolidating parts with the same vendor to reduce the number of Purchase Orders.
Use vendor location as a tiebreaker when everything else is comparable.
Creating a Purchase Order
Once the user reviews the vendor options or AI recommendation, they can select the parts they want to include and create a Purchase Order directly from the Smart Procurement screen. This helps reduce manual work and allows the purchasing process to move faster while still maintaining traceability between the purchasing decision, the vendor history, and the operational need.
