Q: What added value does Airline MRO Parts (AMP) bring to the aerospace industry?
A: Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, AMP specializes in the automated procurement of expendable and consumable materials for the aerospace industry. Through our proprietary technology, we streamline the MR2PO process from material requisition to purchase order. These processes typically take two to three days but we cut them to about four minutes through automation, allowing buyers to focus on higher-value materials such as repairables. The system provides a fully transparent, bias-free procurement process by comparing real-time market options and automatically placing purchase orders under pre-defined conditions. AMP supports around 150 maintenance lines globally, with operations in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and soon South America.
We maintain a structured supplier management program that includes monthly performance feedback. We analyze metrics such as lead time, certification compliance, and fulfillment capacity, showing suppliers where they lost potential sales and how to improve. This data-driven feedback loop incentivizes suppliers to optimize their operations, resulting in stronger, more reliable relationships and improved supply performance across our network.
Q: What challenges have you observed among Mexican suppliers, particularly post-COVID-19?
A: While the immediate pandemic effects have faded, the supply chain vulnerabilities it exposed remain. Many suppliers still face raw material shortages and logistical inefficiencies. To mitigate these issues, AMP works with over 600 suppliers globally, maintaining dynamic, frequently updated digital catalogs to ensure real-time part availability. In Queretaro, where we serve a major client, one of our hardware suppliers recently established a warehouse near the aerospace cluster, significantly reducing delivery times.
Q: What role does Industry 4.0 and AI play in your operations?
A: AI is integral to our system. We implemented AI automation nine years ago to optimize procurement and decision making. The technology reduces process time by over 90% while increasing transparency and accuracy. However, human oversight remains essential. AI is a productivity tool; it supports decision-making but cannot replace the critical judgment required to evaluate and act on data outputs.
Q: As sustainability becomes increasingly important in the aerospace industry, what sustainability measures is AMP implementing?
A: Sustainability is central to our operations and supplier requirements. Although our headquarters are in Florida, our finance, operations, and marketing teams operate from El Salvador, where 85% of energy generation is renewable. We employ logistics optimization tools that calculate the most carbon-efficient transportation routes and operate fully paperless offices. We also require suppliers to comply with ESG and environmental standards, including labor and governance practices that align with international sustainability goals.
We actively partner with nonprofit organizations to support education and community development. In the United States, we work with Folds of Honor, which provides educational scholarships to the children of fallen service members. In El Salvador, we collaborate with Glasswing and Techo to build and refurbish schools. These partnerships complement our environmental efforts, reinforcing AMP’s commitment to responsible business practices and social impact.
Q: How has AMP navigated the challenges in supply chains and trade costs caused by recent geopolitical conditions?
A: The geopolitical landscape has undoubtedly impacted global supply chains, but it has also created opportunities, particularly through nearshoring. Mexico is in a privileged position, with over 400 aerospace companies contributing nearly 30% of national aerospace exports and 4% of the GDP. The country offers skilled labor, strong academic programs, and infrastructure such as CONACYT labs and industrial clusters that make it highly competitive. Its proximity to the United States, bilateral trade agreements, and real-time digital coordination all enable faster decision making and more resilient supply chains. This has made nearshoring a key driver for Mexico’s aerospace growth.
Q: How have global trade tensions and the upcoming USMCA review affected investment decisions in the aerospace sector?
A: Investment slowdowns are common during periods of political or trade uncertainty. However, companies should not halt investment unless they plan to exit a market completely. While caution is understandable, excessive hesitation risks losing ground to competitors who continue advancing. Once stakeholders realize that these geopolitical changes will not radically alter the trade structure, likely within the next six months, we expect investment levels to normalize.
Q: How does AMP approach talent development and workforce upskilling amid digital transformation and the rise of AI?
A: Education is a core value at AMP and a defining element of our leadership culture. We prioritize continuous learning, technical certifications, and staying informed about emerging trends that can either enhance or challenge our operations. Collaboration between academia, government, and industry is essential to keep curricula aligned with modern needs. Any educational program that excludes AI, or even key global languages like Mandarin or German, is already outdated. For us, investing in talent means ensuring our teams are technically prepared and intellectually agile to lead in an AI-driven, globalized aerospace industry.
At AMP, every client onboarding includes an integration phase where we assess their technological capabilities and identify operational gaps. From this analysis, we provide tailored recommendations for workforce upskilling aligned with our AI-driven processes. Data management and analytics are key areas where we support clients, leveraging our in-house experts, many of whom are university professors specializing in machine learning and algorithms. This close link between academia and industry allows us to continuously educate our teams and transfer that knowledge to clients as part of our value proposition.
Q: What are AMP’s main strategic initiatives for the coming years?
A: Our main focus is advancing our AI systems to higher levels of automation and decision support. We are moving from what we call “AI Level 1” toward deeper integration, enabling greater efficiency, agility, and cost reduction for our clients. In parallel, we are preparing for industry growth by investing in infrastructure, digital architecture, and additional talent. We remain committed to supporting sustainability goals across the aerospace ecosystem, including emission reduction targets, airport sustainability frameworks, and cleaner fuel initiatives, which all align with our operational philosophy.
Q: What are AMP’s expansion plans, particularly in Mexico and Latin America?
A: We aim to expand across all continents, since every region presents opportunities through airlines, maintenance hubs, and private aviation operators. Mexico plays a strategic role in our growth. It is the second-largest private aviation market after the United States, with Brazil following closely, which makes it a key hub for both commercial and private sectors. We already serve a major client in Mexico and see significant potential to scale through the synergies built with that relationship. Our goal is to leverage our strong performance in Mexico and El Salvador — both recognized MRO leaders — to reach additional Latin American and global markets.
