1. Taming The Chaos: How We Streamlined Aircraft Lease Data Migration With Smartsheet

January 16, 2025

In the aircraft leasing world, data is everything. Every lease, every maintenance reserve, and every airframe component contributes to a massive, interconnected system that keeps lessors and airlines on the same page. When a client of ours needed to migrate their entire fleet’s data into a new lease management system, it was clear from the start that precision and organization would be critical. 

The task? Managing the project whereby our client needed to assemble packages of technical records with an objective of entering its fleet into an asset management system. The project involved inputting data for hundreds of airframes and major components into a new system, ensuring every record required by the data entry team was accounted for. The catch? A third-party team was handling the data entry, and while they were supposed to streamline the process, it quickly became evident that keeping track of requests, responses, and completeness would be far more challenging than expected.

The Challenge: Managing Chaos Without Losing Control

From the outset, we knew we had to tightly manage two key elements of the project:

1. Customer (airline) outreach—Engaging with airline customers to gather updated data and documentation; and
2. Data completeness tracking—Ensuring the third-party team’s document requests were accurate, timely, and properly followed up on.

Without a centralized system to manage these workflows, things could easily spiral out of control—lost requests, missed deadlines, and incomplete data entries were all real risks.

The Solution: Smartsheet for Workflow and Auditability

We turned to Smartsheet, a flexible, cloud-based platform that allowed us to create and manage multiple workflows in a single workspace. Here’s how it worked:

• Customer Outreach Tracking—We built a dedicated sheet to track outreach to airline customers. Each row represented a specific outreach effort, including the airline, type of request, responsible team member, and follow-up status. Smartsheet’s automated reminders and update requests made it easy to stay on top of outstanding tasks, ensuring that no customer was overlooked.
• Data Entry Tracking—In a separate sheet, we tracked the completeness of the third-party team’s document request list. Each row corresponded to a specific document request, and we used columns to capture key fields like document type, date requested, date received, and completeness status. Smartsheet’s audit trail functionality allowed us to maintain a clear record of all interactions, providing transparency and accountability throughout the process.
• Collaboration & Workflow Automation—With both sheets in one Smartsheet workspace, our team could easily switch between managing customer outreach and tracking data entry progress. The platform’s native workflow automation allowed us to trigger reminders, notifications, and escalations when tasks were overdue or incomplete, reducing manual follow-up efforts and keeping things on track.

What We Learned: Tools Matter, But Process Is Key

While Smartsheet was instrumental in keeping us organized and maintaining auditability, the success of the project came down to a well-defined process and a dedicated team. Here are a few lessons learned:

• Centralize information—Having a single source of truth made it easier to manage chaos, especially when working with a large team across multiple locations.
• Use automation wisely—Smartsheet’s automated workflows saved us countless hours by reducing manual follow-ups and ensuring tasks didn’t slip through the cracks.
• Auditability is non-negotiable—Being able to track every update, every request, and every response was invaluable when questions or disputes arose later in the process.

What’s Next: Smartsheet’s Changing Pricing Model

While Smartsheet proved invaluable on this project, it remains to be seen how its evolving pricing model will affect how and when we use it in the future. Flexibility and transparency are key for us, and we’ll be

HOW ZEEVO CAN HELP.

Data population projects are never easy, but with the right tools and processes in place, they don’t have to be overwhelming. Whether you’re transitioning to a new lease management system or managing another complex project, investing in workflow management and auditability will always pay dividends.

At Zeevo Group, we help lessors’ teams manage complex workflows—especially those involving external stakeholders and multiple moving parts. Smartsheet remains a powerful tool for those who require precise data management and transparent collaboration. We can help you deploy Smartsheet to benefit your data migration efforts.