Aerospace start-ups: How to overcome challenges and achieve ambitions?
In a previous article, we mentioned the various challenges that aerospace start-ups and their teams face during the “scale-up” phase: whether they are technical, operational, or organizational challenges, these key stages are often difficult to grasp and can significantly slow down projects or even diminish ambitions. In this article, designed as a response to the previous one, we address methodologies that can concretely help start-ups in the sector to master the complexity of their ecosystem and transform their ambition into industrial success.
Processes, methods, and tools: Doing the right choices for operational performance
Scaling up must be accompanied by the formalization and consolidation of business processes that meet operational needs. To gain competitiveness, most processes must be supported by sustainable and robust IT solutions that ensure data control during the design, industrialization, testing/certification, and operational support phases. Methodologies derived from Lean Engineering, such as the VSM (Value Stream Mapping) approach, help identify pain points and value-adding steps in development and industrialization cycles. This diagnosis helps consolidate tangible metrics of the initial situation (Lead Time, Cost, Quality, Value), which will serve as a reference to optimize the activity flow, clarify the roles and responsibilities of value chain actors, frame key deliverables, and schedule them over the time horizon. Once the target process is defined, choosing the most relevant information systems (PLM, ERP, MES,…) is a key step to support the digitalization of activities, thus ensuring data continuity and traceability throughout the value chain. Unlike established industrialists who must deal with existing digital solutions, start-ups start with a blank slate and therefore have significant freedom of choice. However, benchmarking must be done with great care as it will be crucial for the years to come (e.g., performance, coverage of business capabilities, obsolescence, recurring cost, demonstration of the robustness of the information system, compliance with client standards requirements, etc.). Ultimately, setting up performance monitoring (e.g., KPIs), which continuously collects field data, helps establish a virtuous system that ensures the new process has truly gained efficiency. This step should help identify transformation axes early on, ensuring the success of operational deployment and user adherence.
Building the right framework for Agile development
Let’s face it, agility is crucial from the development phase. Start-up employees often juggle multiple roles, with sometimes porous boundaries between their areas of action and responsibilities. Deploying Agile methodologies such as Scrum/SAFe provides a framework within teams that clarifies roles and responsibilities, ceremonies (periodic meetings), and milestones of a multi-year roadmap. To implement an Agile framework, it is relevant to start with a scoping phase (environment and practices analysis) to adapt the approach to the company’s context and development strategy. Synchronizing hierarchical environments, deploying mechanisms for prioritization at the project or portfolio level with value-driven decision-making, are levers to accelerate development, but also to deliver Products and Services, quickly testing design hypotheses and finding boundary conditions faster.
Mastering Organizational Schemes and Human Factors to Sustain Transformation
At the origin of start-ups, there are generally three ingredients: a handful of charismatic founders, a strong identity, and a clear vision. Difficulties can arise when the number of employees increases (for example, once the 100-employee mark is passed), when the founder(s) leave the structure, or during exogenous growth… How to preserve and convey the original cement and values within the company? What then unites the employees? Answers can be provided by working on change management. Concrete methodologies address both organizational and employee issues. They help setting-up a more efficient organization (e.g., making it matrix or more horizontal, developing the tribe concept, outsourcing certain activities…), to meet the company’s challenges, and notably ensure that the organization truly serves industrial performance. Human levers must animate employees’ motivation and engagement while ensuring their fulfillment and well-being at work, given rapidly evolving professions. Proper expertise management is a major axis, to place the right people in the right positions, manage employee skill development, ensure knowledge sustainability within the company (e.g., skills assessments, setting up solutions to identify key expertise, capitalization, training, etc.), and thus avoiding skill gaps.
The ability of aerospace start-ups to overcome the technical, operational, and organizational obstacles they face will be decisive for their success and the future of their industry. By adopting solid and adapted processes, relevant IT tools, and effective human resource management, these companies will undoubtedly gain competitiveness, sustain their growth, and transform their vision into reality for the sector.
Mews Partners is an international management consulting firm. We have over 30 years of experience in the Aerospace sector with major players (Aircraft manufacturers, Equipment suppliers, Suppliers, start-ups…). We have completed over 1000 missions in the upstream R&D phases, as well as in the downstream phases of industrialization, supply chain performance, and after-sales support and services.
Nicolas LAMBERT
Senior Partner
François VERGNET
Senior Manager
