By Sarah Kingdom-Evans
Last week I was lucky enough to be on Portsmouth quayside to witness HMS Illustrious returning home for the very last time. Crowds lined the port to welcome the warship, which will retire after 32 years of service and we were also treated to a military aircraft flypast (it turns out that Richard, our MD, is quite the helicopter spotter!)
Ideas are now being invited on how best to preserve the HMS Illustrious legacy, and tenders from private companies and trusts to secure her future have been requested. There are comments in the press that this ship is being retired too early, although the counter argument is that this class of ship is being replaced by a more capable vessel. So are we realising the true value of what we own? It is very true that some industries such as IT/Software need to continually innovate and improve, yet when a product has such a physical presence and a multi-billion pound price-tag then the specification must (if at all possible) be as future-proof as possible.
What are the options for Illustrious; Can she be used as a floating museum or conference venue and would the revenue justify the cost of refurbishment? Could she be scrapped like her sister ships before her? Potentially yes, as the use of forward eAuctions could generate income from significant metal values plus militaria fans who would surely snap up a piece of history.
Many organisations are neglecting to generate a substantial income by either using redundant stock and reinventing how it is used, or even selling on to the highest bidder. As an example, some life-limited parts (LLP) are often replaced by the Aviation and Automotive Industries, as one client specification prevents them being used further; however such parts will be then used safely by another client for many, many miles. Perhaps our contract management, maintenance schedules and long-term strategies should be revised to enable longer lifetimes and greater total cost of ownership projections.
Last week I was lucky enough to be on Portsmouth quayside to witness HMS Illustrious returning home for the very last time. Crowds lined the port to welcome the warship, which will retire after 32 years of service and we were also treated to a military aircraft flypast (it turns out that Richard, our MD, is quite the helicopter spotter!)
Ideas are now being invited on how best to preserve the HMS Illustrious legacy, and tenders from private companies and trusts to secure her future have been requested. There are comments in the press that this ship is being retired too early, although the counter argument is that this class of ship is being replaced by a more capable vessel. So are we realising the true value of what we own? It is very true that some industries such as IT/Software need to continually innovate and improve, yet when a product has such a physical presence and a multi-billion pound price-tag then the specification must (if at all possible) be as future-proof as possible.
What are the options for Illustrious; Can she be used as a floating museum or conference venue and would the revenue justify the cost of refurbishment? Could she be scrapped like her sister ships before her? Potentially yes, as the use of forward eAuctions could generate income from significant metal values plus militaria fans who would surely snap up a piece of history.
Many organisations are neglecting to generate a substantial income by either using redundant stock and reinventing how it is used, or even selling on to the highest bidder. As an example, some life-limited parts (LLP) are often replaced by the Aviation and Automotive Industries, as one client specification prevents them being used further; however such parts will be then used safely by another client for many, many miles. Perhaps our contract management, maintenance schedules and long-term strategies should be revised to enable longer lifetimes and greater total cost of ownership projections.
Its a fact for innovation and improvement when designing terms and conditions of tenders as a strategic approach in contract management. These will be long-term strategies and to sustain longer lifetimes although they are greater total cost of ownership effects.
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