Search for Author, Title, Keyword
RESEARCH PAPER
Intermittent Demand Forecasting of Aircraft Components through Installed Base Forecasting: A Case Study
 
More details
Hide details
1
Department of Transport Management and Logistics Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
 
2
Center for Supply Chain, Operations and Logistics Optimization, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
 
3
Department of Production Engineering and Management, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland
 
 
Submission date: 2025-12-23
 
 
Final revision date: 2026-02-20
 
 
Acceptance date: 2026-02-24
 
 
Online publication date: 2026-02-26
 
 
Corresponding author
Maria Rosienkiewicz   

Department of Production Engineering and Management, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Lukasiewicza 5, 50-371, Wroclaw, Poland
 
 
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
This research addresses the inefficiencies in traditional forecasting methods for the intermittent and erratic demand for aircraft components, which typically results to either high inventory costs or expensive aircraft-on-ground situations from stockouts. The main objective is to build an enhanced forecasting model that uses installed base information to improve demand forecasting accuracy for aircraft components. An extensive literature review followed by a Delphi method study is used to identify the significant contextual factors impacting the demand and integrated into an Artificial Neural Network forecasting model. The model's performance is evaluated using Mean Squared Error and benchmarked against the Croston method. This research provides efficient forecasting practices to the airline industry, aiming to reduce operating expenses and improve maintenance as well as service quality.
REFERENCES (48)
1.
Ilgın M A. A spare parts criticality evaluation method based on fuzzy ahp and taguchi loss functions. Eksploatacja i Niezawodnosc 2019; 21(1): 145–52. doi:10.17531/ein.2019.1.16.
 
2.
Research C M. Global Spare Parts Product Market Report 2025 Edition, Market Size, Share, CAGR, Forecast, Revenue. 2022. Available from: https://www.cognitivemarketres....
 
3.
Aerospace Parts Manufacturing Global Market Report 2025. The Business Research Company; 2025. Available from: https://www.thebusinessresearc....
 
4.
Pinçe Ç, Turrini L, Meissner J. Intermittent demand forecasting for spare parts: A Critical review. Omega (Westport) 2021; 105: 102513. doi:10.1016/j.omega.2021.102513.
 
5.
Zhang H, Wang Q. Risk identification model of aviation system based on text mining and risk propagation. Eksploatacja i Niezawodność – Maintenance and Reliability 2024; 27(1):192767. doi:10.17531/ein/192767.
 
6.
der Auweraer S, Boute R. Forecasting spare part demand using service maintenance information. International Journal of Production Economics 2019; 213:138–49. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.03.015.
 
7.
Huang X, Wang Y, Yue S, Wang J, Han Y. Spare parts consumption prediction model for improving maintenance and operational reliability. Eksploatacja i Niezawodność – Maintenance and Reliability 2026; 28(2): 210721. doi:10.17531/ein/210721.
 
8.
Croston J D. Forecasting and Stock Control for Intermittent Demands. Journal of the Operational Research Society 1972; 23: 289–303. doi:10.1057/jors.1972.50.
 
9.
Syntetos A A, Boylan J E. On the bias of intermittent demand estimates. International Journal of Production Economics 2001; 71: 457–466. doi:10.1016/s0925-5273(00)00143-2.
 
10.
Syntetos A A, Boylan J E. The accuracy of intermittent demand estimates. International Journal of Forecasting 2005; 21: 303–314. doi:10.1016/j.ijforecast.2004.10.001.
 
11.
Teunter R H, Syntetos A A, Zied Babai M. Intermittent demand: Linking forecasting to inventory obsolescence. European Journal of Operational Research 2011; 214: 606–615. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2011.05.018.
 
12.
Zied Babai M, Syntetos A, Teunter R. Intermittent demand forecasting: An empirical study on accuracy and the risk of obsolescence. International Journal of Production Economics 2014; 157: 212–219. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2014.08.019.
 
13.
Babai MbZ, Dallery Y, Boubaker S, Kalai R. A new method to forecast intermittent demand in the presence of inventory obsolescence. International Journal of Production Economics 2019; 209: 30–41. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.01.026.
 
14.
Hajirahimi Z, Khashei M. Hybrid structures in time series modeling and forecasting: A review. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence 2019; 86: 83–106. doi:10.1016/j.engappai.2019.08.018.
 
15.
Choi B, Suh J H. Forecasting Spare Parts Demand of Military Aircraft: Comparisons of Data Mining Techniques and Managerial Features from the Case of South Korea. Sustainability 2020; 12: 6045. doi:10.3390/su12156045.
 
16.
Boutselis P, McNaught K. Using Bayesian Networks to forecast spares demand from equipment failures in a changing service logistics context. International Journal of Production Economics 2019; 209: 325–333. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.06.017.
 
17.
Sanders N R, Manrodt K B. The efficacy of using judgmental versus quantitative forecasting methods in practice. Omega (Westport) 2003; 31: 511–522. doi:10.1016/j.omega.2003.08.007.
 
18.
Cohen M, Lee H. Out of Touch With Customer Needs? Spare Parts and After Sales Service. Sloan Manage Rev. 1990; 31: 55.
 
19.
Hua Z S, Zhang B, Yang J, Tan D S. A new approach of forecasting intermittent demand for spare parts inventories in the process industries. Journal of the Operational Research Society 2007; 58: 52–61. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602119.
 
20.
Zhu S, Jaarsveld W van, Dekker R. Spare parts inventory control based on maintenance planning. Reliability Engineering & System Safety 2020; 193: 106600. doi:10.1016/j.ress.2019.106600.
 
21.
der Auweraer S, Zhu S, Boute R N. The value of installed base information for spare part inventory control. International Journal of Production Economics 2021; 239: 108186. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2021.108186.
 
22.
Bacchetti A, Saccani N. Spare parts classification and demand forecasting for stock control: Investigating the gap between research and practice. Omega (Westport) 2012; 40(6): 722–737. doi:10.1016/j.omega.2011.06.008.
 
23.
Babaveisi V, Teimoury E, Gholamian M R, Rostami-Tabar B. Integrated demand forecasting and planning model for repairable spare part: an empirical investigation. International Journal of Production Research 2023; 61(20): 6791–6807. doi:10.1080/00207543.2022.2137596.
 
24.
Larin D, Tolujevs J. Defining the Proper Model for Aviation Spare Parts Forecast. Lecture notes in networks and systems 2020; 71–9. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-44610-9_8.
 
25.
Ghobbar A A, Friend C H. Evaluation of forecasting methods for intermittent parts demand in the field of aviation: a predictive model. Computers & Operations Research 2003; 30: 2097–114. doi:10.1016/s0305-0548(02)00125-9.
 
26.
Kozik P, Sęp J. Aircraft Engine Overhaul Demand Forecasting Using ANN. Management and Production Engineering Review 2012; 3(2): 21–26. doi:10.2478/v10270-012-0012-2.
 
27.
Şahin M, Kizilaslan R, Demirel Ö. Forecasting Aviation Spare Parts Demand Using Croston Based Methods and Artificial Neural Networks 2013; 15: 1–21.
 
28.
Amirkolaii K N, Baboli A, Shahzad MK, Tonadre R. Demand Forecasting for Irregular Demands in Business Aircraft Spare Parts Supply Chains by using Artificial Intelligence (AI). IFAC-PapersOnLine 2017; 50(1): 15221–6. doi:10.1016/j.ifacol.2017.08.2371.
 
29.
EKİN E. An Application on Demand Forecasting and Stock Control for Aircraft Components. Havacılık ve Uzay Çalışmaları Dergisi 2022; 3(1): 1–40. doi:10.52995/jass.1122940.
 
30.
Dodin P, Xiao J, Adulyasak Y, Alamdari NE, Gauthier L, Grangier P, Lemaitre P, Hamilton W L. Bombardier Aftermarket Demand Forecast with Machine Learning. INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics 2023; 53(6): 425–445. doi:10.1287/inte.2023.1164.
 
31.
Shafi I, Sohail A, Ahmad J, Espinosa J C M, López L A D, Thompson E B, Ashraf I. Spare Parts Forecasting and Lumpiness Classification Using Neural Network Model and Its Impact on Aviation Safety. Applied Sciences 2023; 13(9): 5475. doi:10.3390/app13095475.
 
32.
Zhang G P, Xia Y, Xie M. Intermittent demand forecasting with transformer neural networks. Annals of Operations Research 2024; 339(1–2): 1051–1072. doi:10.1007/s10479-023-05447-7.
 
33.
Zuvieta C M, Leevy J L, Khoshgoftaar T M. A Survey on Statistical and ML-Based Demand Forecasting Methods for Spare Parts in Aviation. IEEE Access 2025; 13: 44800–44816. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3550091.
 
34.
Dekker R, Pinçe Ç, Zuidwijk R, Jalil M N. On the use of installed base information for spare parts logistics: A review of ideas and industry practice. International Journal of Production Economics 2013; 143: 536–545. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.11.025.
 
35.
Jalil M N, Zuidwijk R A, Fleischmann M, van Nunen J A E E. Spare parts logistics and installed base information. Journal of the Operational Research Society 2011; 62: 442–457. doi:10.1057/jors.2010.38.
 
36.
Kim T Y, Dekker R, Heij C. Spare part demand forecasting for consumer goods using installed base information. Computers & Industrial Engineering 2017; 103: 201–215. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2016.11.014.
 
37.
Stormi K, Laine T, Suomala P, Elomaa T. Forecasting sales in industrial services. Journal of Service Management 2018; 29: 277–300. doi:10.1108/josm-09-2016-0250.
 
38.
Fan L, Liu X, Mao W, Yang K, Song Z. Spare Parts Demand Forecasting Method Based on Intermittent Feature Adaptation. Entropy 2023; 25: 764. doi:10.3390/e25050764.
 
39.
Deshpande V, Iyer A V, Cho R. Efficient Supply Chain Management at the U.S. Coast Guard Using Part-Age Dependent Supply Replenishment Policies. Operations Research 2006; 54: 1028–1040. doi:10.1287/opre.1060.0327.
 
40.
Minner S. Forecasting and Inventory Management for Spare Parts: An Installed Base Approach. Service Parts Management 2011; 157–169. doi:10.1007/978-0-85729-039-7_8.
 
41.
Jin T, Liao H. Spare parts inventory control considering stochastic growth of an installed base. Computers & Industrial Engineering 2009; 56: 452–460. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2008.07.002.
 
42.
Ritchie E, Wilcox P. Renewal theory forecasting for stock control. European Journal of Operational Research 1977; 1: 90–93. doi:10.1016/0377-2217(77)90074-1.
 
43.
Si X S, Zhang Z X, Hu C H. An Adaptive Spare Parts Demand Forecasting Method Based on Degradation Modeling. Springer Series in Reliability Engineering 2017; 405–417. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-54030-5_15.
 
44.
Wang W, Syntetos AA. Spare parts demand: Linking forecasting to equipment maintenance. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 2011; 47: 1194–1209. doi:10.1016/j.tre.2011.04.008.
 
45.
Hu Q, Bai Y, Zhao J, Cao W. Modeling Spare Parts Demands Forecast under Two-Dimensional Preventive Maintenance Policy. Mathematical Problems in Engineering 2015; 2015: 1–9. doi:10.1155/2015/728241.
 
46.
Romeijnders W, Teunter R, van Jaarsveld W. A two-step method for forecasting spare parts demand using information on component repairs. European Journal of Operational Research 2012; 220: 386–93. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2012.01.019.
 
47.
Ghodrati B, Kumar U. Reliability and operating environment‐based spare parts estimation approach. Artiba A, editor. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering 2005; 11: 169–184. doi:10.1108/13552510510601366.
 
48.
Rosienkiewicz M. Artificial intelligence-based hybrid forecasting models for manufacturing systems. Eksploatacja i Niezawodność – Maintenance and Reliability 2021; 23(2): 263–277. doi:10.17531/ein.2021.2.6.
 
eISSN:2956-3860
ISSN:1507-2711
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top