AVIAN Inventory Management: Unlocking Trapped Capital within Aerospace Inventory
- Jonathan Kenwright
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
May 29th, 2025 - BY JONATHAN KENWRIGHT, Airline Economics
Reprinted with Permission
As the industry continues to grapple with significant headwinds, consisting most notably of persistent supply chain disruptions and new tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump in April, airlines, lessors, and manufacturers are facing mounting challenges, with spare parts shortages emerging as a particular pressure point.
One company with a different approach, by unlocking trapped capital in aerospace inventory is AVIAN Inventory Management, a company which has emerged with a distinct model to maximise the economic potential of these assets.
Founded in 2020 by Ian Gurekian, AVIAN targets a structural inefficiency within aviation, helping to rectify the difficulty airlines, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and maintenance repair organisations (MROs) face in monetising inventory in a timely manner, without sacrificing visibility, access and operational flexibility. AVIAN has to-date supported and supplied key parts and components for Embraer and Bombardier commercial and business aircraft, but the company by design is agnostic with respect to manufacturer, type, variant or asset.
AVIAN provides MROs, OEMs, and airlines with a financial solution for managing their inventory - an option often unavailable through traditional capital markets. Investors in these markets typically prefer to lend against physical assets rather than own them outright, as they are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with handling tangible inventory. AVIAN, by contrast, specialises in structuring capital solutions around and working directly with such assets.
Gurekian, who as has spent more than 25 years in the aviation sector, started the company based on his prior experience in the industry, after undertaking roles at leasing giant GECAS and hedge fund Brigade Capital. In these roles he traded aviation assets ranging from commercial jets to engine and parts pools.
"At the heart of it, it's us unlocking trapped capital that is literally sitting on a shelf for a lot of these players,” Gurekian told Airline Economics. Traditional financing channels, he noted, were often ill-suited to leverage surplus parts and even new inventory, particularly for large OEMs.
Unlike firms offering purely financial solutions, AVIAN maintains physical control of parts, managing inspection, certification and logistics at its Florida facility. Gurekian said the approach is critical to maintaining quality control and meeting the operational demands of aviation clients.
"A lot of people try and do this purely as an Excel exercise... The inventory doesn't actually move. We have a team of 40 people that are receiving parts, taking pictures, copying certs, and then moving them to market. I don't know anybody doing it the way that we're doing it today,” Gurekian stated.
The firm’s distribution centre in Orlando offers global operators and MRO stations access to a wide range of inventory through a dedicated multi-channel sales platform.
Like many parts of the industry, current macroeconomic uncertainty caused by the on-again off-again threat of tariffs are triggering change. When looking at the implication of tariffs on the spare parts sector, AVIAN sees the current macroeconomic situation as being too volatile to forecast how tariffs will impact the dissemination of aircraft parts.
US President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping set of new tariffs on countries around the world at the beginning of April, sending shockwaves around the globe. The President unveiled a blanket 10% tariff on goods imported into the US from most countries.
Gurekian noted that it remains unclear if tariffs will impact used parts, or only new parts, and that it is also currently unclear if other countries reciprocal tariffs will impact new and used material as well.
He said: “For now, those who already own parts, may benefit from a rising-price tide. If the cost of new parts rises, then used or new-surplus material will trade at a discount to the higher (tariff-adjusted) pricing. A form of escalation that is likely to buoy those with spare parts in the waiting.”
AVIAN shares a view held amongst many in the industry, that more than ever the supply chain needs to continue producing, and suppliers will need to purchase buffer stock to account for the volatility.
This is something that the company said they will be able to help OEMs, MROs and suppliers with as they seek to monetise stock and have it on hand simultaneously.
Looking ahead, the company will aim to replicate the success of its work with Embraer, by setting up similar inventory capital solutions with other OEMs, MROs, and airlines. They aim to diversify and broaden the customer base.
AVIAN is exploring setting up new facilities internationally, based on customer needs. Locations under active discussion include Australia, Dubai, and Germany. The strategy is to place facilities where customer inventory is located, rather than selecting sites independently.
About Airline Economics
Aviation News Ltd is a publishing and events company dedicated to reporting on the aviation finance and leasing industry. Two flagship publications cover the whole spectrum of the commercial aviation industry. Its leading title for the aviation finance and leasing community, Airline Economics, is published bi-monthly and digitally.
Find out more about Aviation News Ltd.
About the AVIAN Inventory Management Orlando, FL Distribution Hub:
89,000 PNs/ 210,000+ line items/more than 13M parts received
Opened in October, 2021; facility designed to spec
AS9120 / ISO 9001 Certified
Meets FAA AC-00-56B requirements
Operates to FAA standards
72,000 sq.ft. Class A facility with a 12,000 sq.ft. climate-controlled storage room
AvSight integrated IMS
Use of on-site Sales Channel Partners (“SCPs”) to speed parts to global customers
About AVIAN Inventory Management
Designed to promote accessibility and speed to market, AVIAN’s focused distribution center in Orlando, Florida delivers unparalleled product availability to all aircraft operators, and maintenance and repair stations around the world, providing a one-stop, same-day, go-to access point through its multiple Sales Channel Partners.
CONTACT
Mark Tender
Director Marketing & Communications