The grit and commitment to tackle any adversity is what drives an enterprise towards achieving unparalleled excellence. The initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic had put businesses and entrepreneurs to the test. Those who strove to pivot and scale their business operations in this period leveraged resources and opportunities and were the ones immune to the ripples of the pandemic’s impact.
We at Insights Success came across a similar story in our endeavor to find the 10 Most Promising Aerospace Tech Solution Providers in 2021. The story of Component Control and its journey as a prominent name in the industry.
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Component Control was originally founded over 30 years ago and grew dramatically as a sole proprietorship until its purchase by CAMP in 2016. As a sole proprietorship, the company initially offered a DOS software program called QuickQuote.
In the late 1990s, the company turned its focus to aviation and released Quantum Control. The core functionality of this software was designed to efficiently manage parts inventory for the aviation aftermarket sector.
Over the years, Quantum Control has evolved into a fully integrated ERP and has expanded to support additional aviation sectors such as manufacturing, MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul), and aircraft maintenance.
Quantum Control was designed to streamline daily operations while adhering to the complex certification rules of compliance put forth by the aviation authorities worldwide. The Quantum software is now deployed in nearly 70 countries and has over 1,700 customers.
Redefining Benchmarks
Component Control’s end-to-end, fully integrated software system supports the management of MRO operations while complying with industry regulations. The software encompasses Q-STEP, Quantum Express, and Quantum Enterprise platforms, which collectively enable MROs, aircraft maintenance facilities, manufacturers, and logistics companies to efficiently manage daily business operations.
Q-STEP is designed for entry-level traders within the aviation space, while Quantum Express is for mid-sized MROs and logistics companies. Finally, Quantum Enterprise adds a multitude of features to meet various business requirements such as contract management, event-based automation, and analytic reporting.
Additionally, Quantum Control integrates with StockMarket.aero, Inventory Locator Service (ILS), Aeroxchange, and B2B-aero providing a complete online trading and commerce environment for aircraft parts and equipment repair. Quantum’s modular platform provides businesses the flexibility to deploy functionalities that best suit their needs as they evolve and grow.
Exemplary Expertise
“On-demand applications, utilizing the lower cost structure of cloud computing, will be the most transformative business model for the next decade as MRO businesses seek to access resources and information via web enabled devices,” says Daniel Tautges, the Senior Vice President at Component Control.
Daniel’s professional background includes financial operation, sales, marketing, and strategy for advanced software, hardware, and telecom products. In his current role as the Senior VP, he is responsible for company revenue, marketing, strategy, alliances, and business development.
In his 25-year long career, Daniel has held several Senior Management positions in early-stage and publicly traded companies, including the CEO of Pinpoint Worldwide, President of nlyte Software, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Rackwise, Vice President of Micromuse and Vice President of the IN Software Business and Global Channel Sales organization, at Lucent Technologies.
Sharing his opinion on why the adoption of modern technologies is necessary in the aerospace industry and how Component Control has stepped up in the tech game to deliver comprehensive services to their clientele, Daniel says, “In the heavily regulated aviation industry, the concise documentation of aircraft maintenance work and custodial control of parts plays a crucial role in MRO operations. Organizations need a comprehensive record of the services associated with the replacement of parts along with the type of operations carried out by MROs to thoroughly track changes made to an aircraft.”
“Quantum Control helps organizations standardize work order management, inventory sales, contracts, and requests for quotation (RFQs), thereby lowering the costs of operations and maintaining the chain of custody of aircraft installed equipment. The ROI for an ERP software system is compelling. There are sometimes investment hurdles or lack of IT bandwidth. Component Control has overcome this by offering SaaS models and Cloud Managed Solutions. A modular approach to implementation also provides scale for smaller customers to get started and grow into a larger solution when needed,” he adds.
Overcoming Adversities
Talking about the challenges that the Component Control Team faced during the pandemic and the measures that were taken to tackle them, Daniel says, “The aviation market was severely impacted by the pandemic. Several of our customers were facing cash shortages, engaged in furloughs, and preserving cash. While many of our competitors followed suit, we took a very aggressive approach by working with our customers to restructure payment, providing extended free trials, and spending more on product and service development. New products and services that were developed were designed to assist our customers’ remote workforce. New mobile apps, hosting offerings, and workflow applications were developed to support these distributed environments.”
Beyond Horizons
Sharing a piece of advice to those aspiring to venture into the aviation tech niche Daniel says, “stalled growth in 2020 was an anomaly for aviation. The market will continue to grow and expand. Innovation in aviation is truly exciting with new electric propulsion, VTROL, commercial planes flying greater than the speed of sound. These and other technologies will offer many opportunities to entrepreneurs.”
When asked about how he envisions on scaling Component Control’s operations and offerings in 2021, Daniel states, “the largest part of our annual budget is R&D. We continue to focus our efforts to improve and expand on our platform. Multi-platform applications (Web-Mobile), expansion of our analytics reporting, as well as integrations with 3rd party providers are all in our current 2021 roadmap.”
