Seattle, Oct. 28, 1996 -- A new site on the World Wide Web gives airlines quick access to the 410,000 different types of spare parts Boeing Commercial Airplane Group keeps in stock for aircraft maintenance and repair.

The Boeing PART Page was shown to airlines last week at a Boeing-sponsored spares symposium. First of its kind, the new Web site simplifies the ordering process, reduces paperwork and errors, and instantly gives order and shipping status as well as data on price, inventory and part interchangeability.

Boeing manages its spares business through a computerized system that integrates seven worldwide distribution centers into a single logistics network. Each year this global operation processes about a million spare-parts shipments in support of 7,000 Boeing jetliners.

"The Boeing PART Page provides an easy, economical way for our spares customers to access our mainframe database," said Darce Lamb, vice president of Boeing Spares. "It's a fully interactive on-line service that extends the advantages of electronic commerce to every customer regardless of size."

Until now, only larger customers had the resources to link directly to the Boeing mainframe, using private-line services. The very largest customers use computer-to-computer transactions to place and track programmed spares orders. Other customers enter data manually before transmitting, a process requiring complex formatting that is subject to error.

More than half of the customers, including small carriers and repair stations, rely only on phone, fax or telex to place orders or request price quotes. Boeing, in turn, must re-key these messages for processing, again creating the chance for error.

"The PART Page is a big improvement," said Lamb. "It's intuitive, fast and accurate -- just point and click, and fill in the blanks. It's also very economical. Generally, the cost for local Internet access is much lower than private-line costs."

Another benefit is the potential for reducing paperwork, including order acknowledgments, shipping schedules and airbills. "Typically we fax this information to the customers whether they need it or not," said Lamb. "The PART Page, by contrast, allows customers to 'pull' the data at their option. There's also a feature for contacting Boeing spares managers via e-mail."

Lamb noted that the new Web site augments other innovations Boeing has initiated to improve convenience and help customers reduce holding costs associated with their spares inventories.

"We were first in our industry to institute a next-day-ship policy on routine spares orders," said Lamb. "We also were first to integrate a direct delivery service into our parts ordering process. Now we're first with a Web site for even greater convenience. Our goal is to respond so fast that our customers can regard our inventory as virtually their own."

The Boeing PART Page is available to airlines and repair services that use standard computer workstations with Internet access. Built-in safeguards limit usage to registered individuals only, and workstations must have a Web browser capable of handling a security protocol.