Aerospace Distributors

AS9120 is the aerospace quality management standard for distributors and stockists — the businesses that buy aerospace parts and materials, hold them, and resell them to manufacturers, MROs, airlines, and other distributors. The current revision is AS9120B. It is published through the SAE and IAQG (International Aerospace Quality Group) family of standards and is recognized worldwide, appearing as EN 9120 in Europe and JISQ 9120 in Asia.

Like the rest of the aerospace family, AS9120 is built on ISO 9001 and on the same core as AS9100. But a distributor does not design or manufacture the product — its job is to receive, store, split, handle, and ship parts without compromising them. So AS9120 keeps the ISO 9001 and AS9100 backbone and focuses it on what matters for a stockist: unbroken traceability, control of documentation and records, correct handling and storage, and above all counterfeit-part prevention.

It helps to know where it sits in the family. AS9100 is for organizations that design and/or manufacture aerospace products. AS9110 is for maintenance and MRO providers. AS9120 is for distributors and stockists. Same DNA, different scope — and for a distributor, the emphasis lands squarely on making sure the part that leaves your warehouse is exactly what its paperwork says it is.

AS9120 is for organizations that pass aerospace parts and materials through their hands without manufacturing them. It is a fit for:

• Distributors and stockists of aerospace parts, components, and assemblies
• Distributors of raw materials — metals, composites, chemicals — for aerospace use
• Distributors of standard hardware and fasteners for aircraft and space applications
• Distributors of electronic components supplied into the aerospace supply chain
• Businesses that buy, hold, cut, split, or re-package aerospace product and resell it, and want to qualify with a manufacturer, MRO, or prime

If your organization designs or manufactures product, the right standard is usually AS9100; if you maintain or overhaul aircraft, it is usually AS9110. A useful test: if you take ownership of aerospace parts and sell them on without changing their design or manufacturing state, AS9120 is almost certainly your standard. As with the rest of aerospace, it is typically required by your customers — manufacturers, MROs, and primes flow AS9120 down as a condition of buying from you, and certified organizations are listed in OASIS, the industry's online supplier database, which is where customers check your status.

AS9120B keeps the ISO 9001 and AS9100 management requirements and focuses them on the risks a distributor actually creates or controls. Because you are not making the part, the emphasis is on protecting it and its identity from the moment you receive it to the moment it ships:

• Traceability — maintaining an unbroken link from your customer back to the original manufacturer, including lot, batch, and where applicable serial and heat-lot identity
• Counterfeit-parts prevention — controls to keep suspect, unapproved, and counterfeit material out of your inventory and out of your customers' aircraft
• Control of records and certifications — capturing, verifying, and passing on certificates of conformity and test reports intact
• Approved sources and supplier control — buying only from acceptable sources and controlling your supply base
• Receiving inspection and verification of incoming product against its documentation
• Correct handling, storage, preservation, and shelf-life control — including protection against damage, contamination, electrostatic discharge, and expiry
• Controlled splitting and re-packaging so identity and traceability are never lost when a lot is divided
• Control of nonconforming product, quarantine, and clear identification throughout the warehouse

The whole standard points at one outcome: the part your customer receives is genuine, undamaged, correctly identified, and fully traceable — with the records to prove it.

The first reason is access. Aerospace manufacturers, MROs, and primes require AS9120 from the distributors they buy through, and they check the OASIS database to confirm it. Without the certificate you generally cannot become an approved source; with it you become a qualified, findable distributor in a market that values reliable, traceable supply.

The second reason is that traceability and counterfeit prevention are the whole game for a distributor. A single counterfeit or mis-identified part passing through your warehouse can end up in an aircraft, and the consequences — safety, liability, and reputation — are severe. AS9120 forces the controls that stop that happening: approved sources, verified certifications, receiving inspection, and unbroken traceability through every split and re-pack.

The discipline also protects your business day to day. Firm handling, storage, and shelf-life control cut damage, expiry, and scrap. Clean records mean you can answer a customer query or trace a suspect lot in minutes, not weeks. And strong supplier ratings on quality and traceability are what keep you on the approved-vendor list for the next contract, in a sector where relationships run for decades.

We bring 30+ years of building quality systems and a record of 900+ organizations certified with a 100% first-time pass rate. Distribution lives and dies on traceability and records, and our 10-Step Approach is built to get those right the first time.

We begin by understanding your product ranges, your supply base, and the requirements your customers flow down to you. We build the system with your team — traceability, counterfeit-part prevention, approved sources, receiving inspection, handling and shelf-life control, and controlled splitting and re-packaging included — so it fits how your warehouse actually runs rather than forcing you into a generic template. We train your people so they can run and defend the system after we are gone.

As with all our work, you get single-level documentation, typically under 200 pages for the whole system — lean enough that people use it, complete enough to satisfy an aerospace auditor. We run internal audits and management review, then support you through the Stage 1 and Stage 2 certification audits and your OASIS listing. Most distributors reach certification in about 5 to 9 months, depending on the range you carry and your starting point.

• Choosing the wrong standard — using AS9100 when your operation is really distribution and belongs under AS9120
• Breaking traceability when a lot is split or re-packaged, so you can no longer link product back to the original manufacturer
• Losing or failing to verify certificates of conformity and test reports, then being unable to pass valid documentation to your customer
• Buying from unapproved sources to fill an urgent order, opening the door to counterfeit or suspect material
• No real counterfeit-part program until a customer or auditor demands one
• Weak handling, storage, and shelf-life control, leading to damage, contamination, or expired stock reaching customers
• Poor segregation and identification of nonconforming or quarantined product in the warehouse
• Traceability and record gaps that surface only when a customer reports a suspect part in the field
• Heavy multi-tier manuals that people ignore, so the documented system and the real one drift apart