It is known that controlling costs is key in any industry. But while “the direct price of operating aircraft, with multiple partners, represents more than half of airline expenditure, many accounting systems are still hamstrung by inefficient manual components. Manual processes that are open to error, and worse, intentional third-party fraud”.
SITA says it has “launched AeroCost Manager, a new purpose-built Direct Operating Cost (DOC) accounting solution that delivers real-time cost management and invoice control for every dollar of aircraft expenditure to address the issue of manual cost control. It was developed with the market-leading Maureva KEOPS system, the system centralizes and integrates an airline’s cost controls by validating invoices, while also automatically detecting any overcharging”.
SITA Senior Vice President, Communications and Data Exchange, Martin Smillie explained that “keeping on top of costs in the aviation industry isn’t easy, and yet it’s essential for managing the financial success of operations and future route planning. But most direct operating costs are still handled manually and aren’t centralized. That’s not only ineffective for budget control but also opens up an airline to inefficiencies and worse, to third-party fraud.”
Smillie added that “without centralized, automated control of invoice management, it becomes a cost center and not a control point, with weak invoice checks. For airlines with a fleet of 50 aircraft, accounting teams will deal with 25-30,000 invoices every year. Manual processing generates simple errors, while fraudulent activity can also add unwarranted cost.”
The new SITA system “resolves these issues with a centralized, intelligent invoice management solution that reduces costs through automation, removing innocent human error and intentional third-party fraud.”
Maureva Sales Director, Jean-Marc Perreaux added that “SITA AeroCost Manager integrates our KEOPS solution to automate and enhance airline decision-making and financial stability. It centralizes data and continuously monitors costs. Without compromising on functionality and compliance, this system provides accurate calculations for everything from network and route planning to flight operations, post-flight costs and overall budgeting.”