Understanding the “wish list” for A&D contractors
After nearly a decade as a mechanical engineer, I now spend my time working directly with some of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies. What do I hear? The same three wishes. Every aerospace and defense company is chasing similar outcomes — perfect program execution, digital manufacturing agility and faster backlog conversion. The problem is achieving all three at once feels impossible. In this article, we’ll stack up the wishes against the realities and see how close we can get to closing the gap. First, let me play genie: A&D Contractors: “You are granted three wishes”
Wish 1: Flawless Program Execution
Let’s meet all of our deadlines
Defense contractors face significant challenges in managing cost overruns, missed schedules, and complex project requirements. A delay for a smaller company can run into the thousands of dollars. For A&D? Delays worth ten figures are at risk with every project.
For A&D? Delays worth ten figures are at risk with every project.
The first wish from the companies I regularly work with would be to achieve perfect program execution by delivering every program on time and on budget. The goals:
- No unexpected cost escalations or schedule slip
- Strong project governance, risk management, and accountability
- Reliable transitions from design to production to delivery
Achieving this would free up capital, strengthen customer trust and improve profitability.
Wish 2: Advanced Digital Manufacturing and Supply Chain Agility
Increase efficiency and integration
Once you’ve got projects humming along, the next best step would be to improve the overall process. Right now one stalled supplier issue can bog down an entire build. With long development times, delays can snowball. So the second wish would be to make a quantum leap in industrial-scale digital manufacturing. These organizations depend heavily on long, fragile supply chains and legacy systems that constrain output. If this wish came true, then companies could expect:
- Fully digitalized, automated production lines (internally and externally)
- Real-time integration between design, production and quality control
- A supply network that’s resilient to disruptions and flexible in scaling
This transformation would boost throughput, reduce costs and support rapid delivery to customers.
Wish 3: Faster Backlog Conversion and Business Model Flexibility
Ship out orders faster by reducing production time
Wish 1 and 2 combine to support what we want to happen with No. 3. The third wish centers on converting massive backlogs into cash flow faster while diversifying revenue streams. Defense contractors often have years of committed orders tied up in production. The real challenge that I typically see is turning backlogs into predictable revenue. Let’s wish for:
- Faster backlog-to-revenue conversion through operational efficiency
- Stronger mix of recurring revenue
- Modular, flexible contracts and scalable production
Achieving this would make revenue more predictable, cash flow more consistent and the business model more resilient to budget cycles.
Reality Check: What’s in Your Control?
Of course, no one gets three wishes. But every A&D company has real levers it can pull right now to make progress toward these goals. These five “inside-the-fence” levers determine how well a company executes, adapts and delivers. Every company I have worked with has the ability to execute the following and here’s how CoLab can help. The goal here is ultimately reducing capital allocation through faster production times.
You don’t have a genie but you could have a modern, digital system and process
A&D clients have unique problems that require solutions made just for them. But having worked with several now, it’s obvious that just wishing won’t make solutions come true. You need someone who understands your sector requirements and knows how you function who can help make the changes you need happen. It’s the closest thing to a genie that you can actually get.
About the author
Pat O’Brien is a Strategic Account Director with CoLab who focuses on A&D. As a mechanical engineer he has been part of design, manufacturing and quality teams. Today, he helps organizations adopt and implement technology to modernize their systems. Email Pat at patobrien@colabsoftware.com.
