Boeing 787 - Supply Chain ripple effect

Tuesday appearing to be the maiden flight for the new Boeing super aircraft, weather permitting, how ill this change supply chains and innovate manufacturing processes ?   


The new 787 is scheduled for approximately 20% to be Titanium.  Will this extra demand for newer parts also drive manufacturing innovation as surely there will be alloy based parts.   Will the titanium market be able to respond to the increased demand for titanium, how will this influence the titanium prices and will there be enough manufacturers that produce the finished alloys and titanium components needed.  This is all considering the maiden voyage is a success, which I hope it is. 


Will companies innovate with new processes and technologies that will influence the market and eventually drive down cost of these components.  Will supplier quality be upheld and will other aerospace and defense vendors and suppliers work together to better the industry as this could ripple down to even consumer goods.  Other vendors that make buses, trains, automobiles etc. may also benefit from these space age metal technologies and the new supplier knowledge gained from aircraft suppliers, which may cross over to the mainstream a lot quicker than previous years. 


With all the hype and speculation going on about the components of the new parts will other competitors also mimic Boeing specs and continue to ripple through the supply chain with new parts, alloys and technologies will have multiplier effect on suppliers that support Boeing production for its planes.  This may just be the beginning to a new wave of innovation for manufacturing, alloy creation and other benefits that can be gained from such stringently controlled specifications.