What is MERLIN?
MERLIN is EAL's internal aviation intelligence platform. 16 years of transaction history, 475,000+ parts records, live sanctions data, and AI-powered analysis — purpose-built for CFM56 engine and parts trading.
| Capability | Scale |
|---|---|
| Parts inventory | 475,000+ records — live from OASIS |
| Sales transaction history | 136,000+ rows — $295.3M revenue, 2008–2026 |
| Sanctions & compliance screening | 24,000+ entities once the US OFAC list has loaded — UK OFSI, US OFAC, credit watch, internal bans. Both lists refresh by themselves twice a day |
| Engine portfolio | 36 CFM56 engines tracked with full modal and market context |
| Price catalog | 16,171 lines — CFM 2017, 2019, 2025-26, Honeywell Jan-26 |
| AI query engine | Plain-English questions against the live database |
| Customer records | 3,881 customers derived from 16yr transaction history |
Login & Access
MERLIN uses username + password + Google Authenticator 2FA. Biometric login (Face ID / Touch ID) is available on supported devices.
eal-merlin.co.uk
Open eal-merlin.co.uk
Any modern browser. Mobile-friendly. No app to install.
Enter your username and password
Credentials issued by Steven (sstoddartit@gmail.com) or Sakina.
Enter your 6-digit authenticator code
Open Google Authenticator → find EAL MERLIN → enter the current 6-digit code. Refreshes every 30 seconds.
Biometric (optional but recommended)
Tap "Use Face ID / Touch ID" on the login screen to register your device. Future logins skip the password entirely.
User Roles
Four role levels. Your role determines which modules you can see and what actions you can take.
Parts & Engines Senior
Sales Full
Administrator
Data Admin
Parts Search
Search 475,000+ inventory records. Full filtering, FMV pricing, BIN locations, and high-risk PN watchlist integration.
How to search
Finding parts, filters, reading results
Type a part number
Full or partial — e.g. 78848 finds LK78848. Hit Enter or click Search.
Apply filters
Condition (NEW / OHC / REP-INS / AR / US), Warehouse (LED / BOH / IND / IES / IAW / QRN), NFS status. Page size: 50 / 100 / 250 / 500.
Read the result row
PN · description · aircraft · qty · condition · warehouse · BIN location · CFM56 flag · unit price USD · OEM list price · flags · action buttons.
Action buttons
FMV — 16yr price history modal. Part Intel — AI research if available. Send to Quote — adds line to active RFQ.
Ask MERLIN
Natural language queries against the entire database. Ask questions in plain English — MERLIN translates to SQL and returns live results.
Example queries
What you can ask and how to phrase it
| Category | Example query |
|---|---|
| Stock availability | "How many new HPT blades do we have in Bournemouth?" |
| Part lookup | "Show me all CFM56-7B parts with qty over 5 in LED" |
| Sales history | "What did we sell to Lufthansa Technik in 2023?" |
| Pricing | "What is the average price we sold 2080M87P04 for?" |
| Customer analysis | "Who are our top 10 customers by revenue last 3 years?" |
| Compliance | "Have we ever sold to any company with Russia in the name?" |
| Inventory | "What CFM56-5B parts have zero stock?" |
Email Assist
Paste or screenshot a customer RFQ email. MERLIN extracts part numbers, searches stock, and drafts a reply — in under 30 seconds.
RFQ email workflow
Inbox to draft reply in 30 seconds
Paste the email or upload a screenshot
Copy the full RFQ and paste into the text box, or drag-drop a screenshot (PNG/JPG/WEBP).
Click Analyse Enquiry
AI extracts part numbers, quantities, and conditions from the email text.
Review stock matches
Matched stock shown with condition, warehouse, BIN, and price. Review availability.
Review and send the draft reply
MERLIN drafts a professional reply. Edit as needed, then copy or click Send to Quote Assist.
Quote Assist
Full RFQ management from intake to formal quote. Manage pipeline, build quotes, track deals through to close.
Quote workflow
RFQ queue, quote builder, deal tracking
| Tab | What it does |
|---|---|
| RFQ Queue | All incoming requests. Filter: New / In Progress / Quoted / Closed. Create manually or receive from Email Assist. |
| Quote Builder | Add lines (PN, qty, condition, price), set validity (14/30/60/90 days), review total, save or send. |
| Active Deals | Quotes sent — pending customer response. |
| Quote History | All quotes: draft, sent, won, lost. Full audit trail. |
Compliance
Sanctions screening, due diligence, and high-risk entity management. Screen any company or individual against the sanctions lists before transacting. The UK OFSI and US OFAC lists update automatically twice a day.
Sanctions screening
UK OFSI, US OFAC, credit watch, internal bans
Go to Compliance → Due Diligence
Enter a company or individual name and click Search.
Review the result
Checks the UK OFSI list, the US OFAC SDN list, credit watch and internal bans. CLEAR = no match.
DD history
Last 20 searches stored. Click Re-run on any past search to refresh against current data.
The lists update by themselves
The UK OFSI and US OFAC lists are downloaded automatically at 05:30 and 13:30 UTC every day. Each run is written to the Audit Log (look for SANCTIONS_SYNC), including any download problem. You can also press Sync UK OFSI or Sync US OFAC SDN on the Entity List tab to run it straight away.
Pre-sale Compliance Check
One screen to check a customer and a deal before you quote or ship. It runs the sanctions, destination country and dangerous goods checks together and gives a single answer. Open it from Sales → Pre-sale compliance check in the sidebar (the Sales group may be folded shut, so click Sales to open it). The Compliance screen is the list of banned and sanctioned names; it has a button that jumps straight to the check. Anyone who can use parts search can use it. The check is advisory: it records a clear answer but does not stop a quote or dispatch by itself.
Screen a customer and destination
BLOCK, REVIEW or CLEAR, saved with a record number
Fill in the form
Customer name is required. Add the destination country (name or 2-letter code), the customer e-mail, a reference (quote or order number), any part numbers, and if you know it the aircraft registration or serial number.
Read the verdict
It checks the name and e-mail domain against the sanctions lists (including near-matches and overrides), the destination country, the part numbers for dangerous goods, and the aircraft registration against the US OFAC sanctioned aircraft list (a registration match blocks, a serial number match asks for review). The customer record is shown for information only. Below the form, Recent checks lists the last 50 checks by everyone.
| Verdict | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BLOCK | DO NOT PROCEED. Escalate to Sakina. |
| REVIEW | REFER TO COMPLIANCE. Something needs a person to look at it. |
| CLEAR | SCREENS PASSED. Both the sanctions and the country checks came back clear. |
Trace Vault
Keep the paperwork that travels with a part (8130-3, certificate of conformity, back-to-birth, teardown report) filed against its part number and serial number, so anyone can produce it in seconds. Open it from Parts → Trace Vault. Anyone who can use parts search can file and open documents.
File and find trace documents
PDF, PNG, JPEG or TIFF, up to 25 MB
| To do this | Do this |
|---|---|
| File a document | Enter a part number, a serial number or both. Pick the document type, choose the file, press Upload. |
| Find paperwork | Type a part or serial number in Find documents and press Search. Press Open to download the file. |
| Remove a wrong one | Administrators press Hide. The file stays on the server and the action is logged; it just stops showing in the list. |
Opportunities
A daily list of customers worth calling, built from 16 years of sales history. Open it from the Sales menu. It is read-only, so it never changes any data.
Who to call today
Due to reorder, and gone quiet
| List | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Due to reorder | Accounts that bought the same part at least 3 times on a regular cycle and are at or past their usual interval. Parts we have in stock come first. |
| Gone quiet | Accounts that last ordered between 12 and 60 months ago, ranked by what they were worth over their lifetime. |
Copy draft
Each row has a Copy draft button that puts a ready-to-edit e-mail on your clipboard.
360
The 360 link opens the full customer view before you call.
SUP Screening
Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUP) database. Automatically screens EAL stock against known counterfeit and unapproved part numbers. Badges appear in Parts Search.
Counterfeit PN screening
17 SUP part numbers, 5 EAL stock matches flagged
| Badge | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 🚫 CRITICAL | Part number confirmed on FAA/EASA SUP list | Do not quote or ship — escalate to Sakina |
| ⚠ WARNING | Part number flagged for verification | Check trace documentation before quoting |
Engine Inventory
Full portfolio of EAL's 36 CFM56 engines. View specs, track status, upload documents, record BtB trace. Restricted to PGS, Niall Farrell, Shaun Penton, and Trevor Whetter.
Engine fleet & portfolio
Inventory, detail modal, sold recording, new intake
| Engine families in portfolio | Status |
|---|---|
| CFM56-3B1, -3B2, -3C1 (737 Classic) — 31 engines | In stock — AD 2022-03039 AGB deadline 31 Dec 2026 |
| CFM56-7B26 (737 Next Gen) — matched pair | 894446/894421 under overhaul — active LOI $21.75M BBJ1 |
| CFM56-5B4/P, -5B9 (A320 family) — 3 engines | Matched pairs — active LOIs $1.2M–$1.5M range |
Engine document AI system
Upload any engine document — AI extracts structured data automatically
Open any engine card
Click an engine in the inventory grid. Scroll to the Engine Documents section at the bottom of the detail modal.
Upload the document
Select any PDF — LLP status sheet, borescope report, MPA run report, or build profile. Leave type on Auto-detect and click Upload & Analyse.
AI extracts the data
Claude Haiku reads the document and extracts structured data: all 19 LLPs with remaining cycles, borescope stage findings, EGT margins, or build profile module list.
Click Details
Opens the full structured view — colour-coded LLP table, stage-by-stage borescope findings, EGT margin chart, or full module list with serial numbers.
| Document type | What AI extracts |
|---|---|
| LLP Status Sheet (Form TS133) | All 19 LLPs: CSN, life limit, remaining cycles, limiting part identified |
| Video Borescope Report | Per-stage findings, SERVICEABLE/UNSERVICEABLE disposition, AMM references |
| MPA Run Report | EGT margins at each rating, N1/N2 actuals vs targets, PASS/FAIL |
| CFM56-7B Build Profile | All modules with P/N, S/N, condition, cycles remaining, source ESN |
Back-to-birth trace
Chain of custody AI extraction for engines and parts
Engine trace
Open any engine card → scroll to Back-to-Birth Trace section → upload trace document. AI extracts full chain of custody.
Parts trace
In Parts Search, click the 🔗 BtB button on any part row → upload trace document for that part number.
View timeline
Click Timeline — AI-generated chain of custody showing manufacturer → operators → shop visits → current owner. Verdict: FULL / PARTIAL / INSUFFICIENT.
AD tracker — per engine
Airworthiness directive compliance by serial number
FAA AD 2022-03039 (CFM56-3 AGB replacement) is tracked per engine serial number. 31 engines in scope. Niall can toggle compliance status as work is completed on each engine.
| AD | Affected | Deadline | EAL status |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAA 2022-03039 | CFM56-3B1, -3B2, -3C1 | 31/12/2026 | 31/31 engines tracked — click Show affected engines on AD card |
EIPC Catalogue
Search Rolls-Royce Engine Illustrated Parts Catalogs. 32,000+ parts across three engine types: RB211-524 (24,075 parts), Trent 500 (8,204 parts), and Trent 700 (181 parts). Data sourced directly from official Rolls-Royce EIPC documentation.
Search the catalogue
Find parts by PN, description, engine type, or ATA chapter
Open EIPC Catalogue
Click EIPC Catalogue under the Engines group in the sidebar. On first visit, a summary shows total parts per engine type.
Search or filter
Type a part number (e.g. FK28702), a description keyword (e.g. "compressor shaft"), or browse by selecting an engine type and ATA chapter from the dropdowns.
Review results
Each row shows: engine type (colour-coded), ATA chapter/section, figure title, item number, part number, nomenclature, effectivity code, and quantity per assembly.
Check stock availability
Click any part number in the results — it jumps directly to Parts Search with that PN pre-filled, so you can instantly see if we have it in stock.
| Engine Type | Parts | Unique PNs | ATA Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|
| RB211-524 | 24,075 | 10,733 | 16 chapters (full IPC) |
| Trent 500 | 8,204 | 3,557 | 7 chapters (72-80) |
| Trent 700 | 181 | 143 | 1 chapter (72 Engine only) |
Cross-engine commonality
Find parts shared between different engine types
Open the commonality tool
Click Cross-Engine Commonality button below the search bar.
Select two engine types
Pick the engines to compare (e.g. RB211-524 vs Trent 500). Click Find Common Parts.
Review shared parts
Results show every part number that appears in both engine types, with the nomenclature/description from each engine’s IPC.
Sales History
Search 136,000+ transactions from 2008–2026. Click any customer row for a full spend card. Download the 5-sheet executive report.
Sales analytics
Transaction search, customer cards, executive reporting
Search transactions
Filter by PN, customer name, or year — combine all three. Results: date, PN, qty, condition, price, customer.
Click any customer row
Opens the customer card: total spend, transaction count, unique parts, top parts chips, full transaction history.
Executive report
Gold Report button → 5-sheet Excel: summary KPIs, revenue by month with MoM trend, top 20 customers (3yr), agent leaderboard, slow movers (2yr+).
Demand Forecasting
88 machine learning forecast models built from 16 years of EAL transaction data. Predicts which parts will be in demand and when. 60 active procurement alerts.
Procurement intelligence
Demand predictions and buying recommendations
View procurement alerts
60 active alerts identify parts where demand is forecast to exceed current stock within 90 days. Sorted by urgency.
Review forecast chart
Each PN shows actual sales history + 12-month forecast line. Click any alert to see the full trend.
Models update monthly
Forecast models re-run automatically on the 1st of each month incorporating latest sales data.
Stock Aging
Days-on-hand analysis across the entire inventory. Identifies slow-moving stock by age bracket. Helps prioritise ILS listing and pricing decisions for aged material.
Aging dashboard
Stock age brackets, slow movers, pricing action
| Age bracket | Recommended action |
|---|---|
| Under 1 year | Normal — monitor demand forecast |
| 1–2 years | Review pricing — consider ILS listing if not already listed |
| 2+ years | Price reduction or consignment — capital tied up unnecessarily |
Customer Database
Full customer profiles with revenue rank, lifetime spend, transaction history, compliance status, and top parts bought. Search 3,881 customers.
Customer 360
Revenue rank, spend analytics, compliance, trading notes
Search and click any customer
Type company name in the search box. Click any row to open the customer drawer.
Revenue rank and spend stats
Drawer shows: revenue rank across all 3,881 customers, lifetime spend, total transactions, unique parts bought, this year vs last year spend.
Top parts and full history
Top 5 parts by spend shown with amounts. Full transaction history below — filterable by PN or date.
Compliance screen
Click Screen to run sanctions check against UK OFSI + US OFAC databases. Result logged with timestamp.
Dispatch / Pick-Pack
Create dispatch orders, auto-assign BIN locations, mark lines as picked, download Excel pick lists for the warehouse.
Pick and pack workflow
Order creation to warehouse pick list
Create a dispatch order
Enter customer, reference, add lines (PN + quantity). BIN locations auto-populate from stock records.
Download pick list
Formatted Excel sorted by BIN location for efficient warehouse picking.
Mark as picked
Tick off lines as they are picked. Order status updates automatically.
FMV Calculator
Fair Market Value from 16 years of EAL's own transactions. More accurate than ILS listed pricing for CFM56 material because it reflects actual EAL sell prices — not generic market averages.
Reading an FMV result
What each figure means and how to use it
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Average price | Mean of all EAL transactions for this PN |
| Median price | Middle value — less affected by outliers. Use this as your quoting anchor. |
| Trend | Rising / Stable / Falling based on recent vs historical prices |
| By condition | Separate averages for NEW, OHC, REP/INS etc. |
| Recent transactions | Last 10 actual sales — customer, date, qty, price |
Market Intelligence
Live CFM56 market data, FTAI fleet analysis, value trends, and sanctions diversion risk — all in one tab.
CFM56 Market tab
Current market status and fleet intelligence
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Current value status | CFM56-7B at historic high. -5B firming. -3 end-of-cycle. |
| OEM price trends | CLP escalation ~10%/yr. USM discount analysis. |
| FTAI Power tracker | CFM56 engines being converted to data-centre turbines — reduces available fleet. |
| Fleet timeline | 737NG and A320ceo retirement projections to 2030. |
| Sanctions diversion risk | High-risk regions for parts diversion — compliance context. |
Price Catalogs
16,171 lines across four catalogs. Generate custom Excel price lists filtered by aircraft type, condition, warehouse, and catalog source.
Price list generator
Filtered Excel downloads for customer quotes
Go to Price Catalogs
Generate Price List section is at the top.
Set filters
Aircraft type, condition, warehouse, catalog source (e.g. CFM 2025-26 only).
Click Download Excel
Formatted price list downloads instantly — ready to attach to a customer email.
Part Intelligence
AI-powered research on any part number. Returns description, aircraft applicability, OEM details, known issues, and market commentary.
AI part research
Web-sourced intelligence on any PN
Search a PN in Parts Search
If Part Intelligence exists for a PN, a PI badge appears on the result row.
Click the Part Intel button
Modal with AI-researched info: full description, fits, OEM, known issues, market notes.
Accept or reject suggested DB updates
If AI found better data than MERLIN has on record, accept the update directly from the modal.
Risk Intelligence
OpenSanctions deep entity screening plus AI adverse media search. Goes further than the basic compliance check — surfaces company structures, related entities, and news risk.
Deep entity screening
OpenSanctions + adverse media AI
| Source | Coverage |
|---|---|
| OpenSanctions | 1.5M+ entities from 200+ global sources |
| UK OFSI | Synced automatically twice a day |
| US OFAC SDN | Companies and people, synced automatically twice a day (ships and aircraft are left out) |
| AI adverse media | Web search for negative news, legal actions, ownership flags |
Admin Tools
Available to Administrator and Parts & Engines Senior roles only.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| User Management | Create, edit, deactivate users. Set roles, reset 2FA, assign agent codes. |
| NFS Management | View, add, and manage Not For Sale flags on part numbers. |
| Import History | Log of all OASIS data imports — date, rows, status. |
| Audit Log | Full user action log — who did what, when. Exportable. |
| RR Import | Import Rolls-Royce stock data files. |
| Price Catalogs | Upload new catalog files, manage pricing sources. |
| Usage | Under the System menu. Shows which screens are being used, so we can see what staff find useful. |
| Stock Feed | System → Stock Feed. Shows what is in the outside stock feed (part number, description, condition, quantity; no prices) and downloads it as a CSV. Create one access token per marketplace or partner so you can switch one off on its own. Nothing can be pulled until a token exists. |
| Sanctions sync | Compliance → Entity List tab. Buttons to refresh the UK OFSI and US OFAC lists now. They also run by themselves at 05:30 and 13:30 UTC. |
| Email Integration | Microsoft Graph API status — configure at /admin/email/status. |
Exchange Rates
Monthly USD/GBP/EUR rates matching EAL's OASIS and finance system. Set by Liz Rodgers on the last working day of each month using Barclays + XE average. 187 months of history imported.
Monthly rate management
Update rates, view history, topbar display
Current rates in topbar
Top right of every page shows current period and rates — e.g. 2026-06 £1.3449 / €1.1541. Hover for source and set date.
Update monthly (Admin only)
Go to Price Catalogs (Admin menu). Exchange Rates Management panel is at the top. Enter new USD/GBP and USD/EUR rates from Liz's monthly email, add notes, click Update Rates.
Rate history
Last 24 months of rates shown in the history table. All imports go back to December 2010.
Coming Next
Build queue as of 15/10/2026. Use the Feedback & Bugs module in MERLIN to submit requests or report issues.
Hazmat PN Data Load
The dispatch check is live. The hazmat_parts table has 0 rows, so it checks nothing yet. Needs the dangerous goods part number list.
Restricted Countries Data Load
The dispatch check is live and now also drives the Compliance Check. The restricted_countries table has 0 rows, so no check can show CLEAR until it is loaded.
LLP Data Load
Tables llp_master and engine_llps exist. Cycle tracking, remaining life and PRV pricing are ready once the LLP part numbers and cycle data are provided.
ILS Auto-Publish — will not be built
ILS will not give us API access, so listing stock on ILS stays manual.
OASIS Import — manual for now
The OASIS stock import is done by hand until another route is found.
Trace Vault
Trace paperwork filed against each part and serial number, searchable, with an audit trail. Live now (see Trace Vault above).
Stock Feed
One CSV of sellable stock, with revocable access tokens for outside systems. Live now (System → Stock Feed).
Compliance Check stays advisory
Decided 15/10/2026: it records and warns but does not block a quote or dispatch.
Customer portal demo slice
A small first version for customers. Separate sign-in, each customer sees only their own data, and prices and FMV are never exposed.