RTLS Asset Tracking At a Glance

Industry: Aerospace and Defense

Location: Europe

Assets Tracked: 1,800

Technology: UWB RTLS, SAP Integration, Mobile Application

Asset Search Time Reduction: Up to 70%

Asset Utilization Improvement: Estimated 10%

Yearly Cost Saving: $280,000 (estimated)

In high-precision industries like aerospace and defense, operational efficiency is not a preference. It is a requirement. When critical equipment is misplaced, when manual tracking creates production delays, or when asset records diverge from physical reality, the consequences reach far beyond inconvenience.

This case study describes how Litum helped a leading aerospace and defense company in Europe solve exactly these problems with a UWB-based RTLS asset tracking solution that transformed how the facility managed 1,800 assets.

Key Challenge

A leading aerospace and defense company in Europe faced significant challenges in maintaining operational efficiency due to the manual tracking of equipment within their facility.

The existing process was time-consuming, error-prone, and led to delays in production. These inefficiencies were amplified by the lack of visibility into the real-time location of assets, making it difficult to ensure that equipment was in the right place at the right time.

Manual asset tracking at this scale creates compounding problems. Every hour a technician spends searching for a tool or component is an hour not spent on production. Across a workforce managing 1,800 assets daily, these small delays accumulate into measurable production losses. The Aerospace Industries Association consistently identifies operational efficiency and asset visibility as key priorities for aerospace manufacturers competing in a tightly regulated, high-precision industry.

Solution

Litum provided a UWB-based RTLS asset tracking solution to monitor the location of 1,800 assets, delivering accurate, real-time data on their movement within the facility. The system included features like heat maps and advanced reporting, offering actionable insights into asset usage to help streamline workflows. Integration with SAP ensured that physical and digital asset records were always in sync, while a mobile-friendly application gave staff quick and easy access to essential data anytime, anywhere.

How the System Worked

Each of the 1,800 assets was tagged and tracked in real time using UWB RTLS technology. UWB (Ultra-Wideband) delivers centimeter-level positioning accuracy, which is critical in aerospace environments where components are numerous, visually similar, and spread across large production floors.

The live location of every asset was visible on a central dashboard. Heat maps showed where assets were most and least frequently used, giving operations teams data to reorganize storage and workflows. Asset-barcode matching linked physical items to their digital records, eliminating the discrepancies that accumulate when manual entries fall out of sync.

Features Deployed

• Real-Time Asset Tracking: Tracking asset locations in real time to reduce the time spent searching for assets
• Asset-Barcode Matching: Associating physical assets with digital records for streamlined management
• SAP Integration: Linking RTLS data with SAP to synchronize physical assets with digital records
• Mobile Application Integration: On-the-go access to asset locations and reporting features
• Efficiency and Reporting Dashboard: Comprehensive real-time insights, including heat maps and asset movement reports, to analyze operational workflows and enhance decision-making with actionable data

Results

Litum’s solution significantly enhanced operational efficiency by optimizing asset utilization and drastically reducing time spent on manual searches.

10%  estimated improvement in asset utilization

70%  reduction in time spent searching for assets

$280,000  estimated yearly cost saving

The system improved asset utilization by an estimated 10%, leveraging location data to ensure better use of existing resources. Real-time tracking reduced the time spent searching for assets by up to 70%, streamlining workflows and minimizing delays. These improvements accelerated production cycles as well as reinforcing the client’s position as a leader in the aerospace industry. These efforts culminated in an estimated yearly cost saving of $280,000.

Why RTLS Matters in Aerospace and Defense

Aerospace and defense manufacturing operates under some of the strictest quality and traceability requirements of any industry. Regulatory frameworks including those from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) require documented traceability of components and tools throughout the production lifecycle.

RTLS asset tracking directly supports these requirements by maintaining a continuous, auditable record of where every asset is and where it has been. This reduces the compliance burden on production teams and gives quality managers the data they need for audits without manual reconstruction of asset histories.

For organizations in this sector, the ROI of RTLS extends beyond search time reduction. It includes lower risk of compliance findings, better capital planning based on real utilization data, and the operational confidence to scale production without proportionally scaling administrative overhead. See more about Litum’s approach to aerospace and defense RTLS.

See how Litum’s RTLS can transform asset tracking in your facility. Explore Litum’s asset tracking solution and see all industrial case studies at litum.com/industrial-case-studies/.