Ground Handling Vendor Management
Ground Operations & Airport Services › Ramp & Turnaround Operations · 17 L4 steps · 5 phases · 5 decision gates · Updated 2026-03-19 14:03
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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)
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L4 Process Steps
| Step | Step Name | Role / Swim Lane | System | Input | Output | KPI | Dec? | Exc? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phase 1 1.1 |
Define ground handling scope and service requirements | Head of Ground Operations | SAP Ariba | Network expansion plan, station opening schedule, incumbent contract expiry notice | Ground handling scope document covering ramp, fuelling, deicing, ULD, and cleaning | Scope document published within 10 business days of trigger event | N | N |
| 1.2 | Issue RFP to pre-qualified ground handlers | Procurement Lead | SAP Ariba | Approved scope document, approved vendor panel list from supplier master | Published RFP with evaluation scorecard, response deadline, and mandatory IATA SGHA annex B template | RFP issued within 5 business days of scope sign-off; minimum 3 qualified bidders invited | N | N |
| 1.3 | Evaluate vendor proposals against qualification criteria | Procurement Lead | SAP Ariba | Vendor RFP responses, IATA ISAGO audit certificates, IOSA-compliant safety declarations | Scored evaluation matrix; shortlist of 1–2 vendors approved for site audit | Evaluation completed within 15 business days of RFP close; minimum ISAGO score ≥ 80% | Y | N |
| 1.4 | Conduct on-site capability and safety audit | Ground Handling Auditor | Archer GRC | Shortlisted vendor details, ISAGO report, audit checklist aligned to IATA AHM 810 | Audit report with pass/fail rating per category; safety risk register entry in Archer GRC | On-site audit completed within 20 business days of shortlist; zero critical findings to proceed | N | Y |
Phase 2 2.1 |
Negotiate SLA terms, turnaround targets, and penalty rates | Commercial Manager | SAP Ariba | Audit-cleared vendor, benchmark turnaround data from SITA Airport Management System, peer airline SLA benchmarks | Agreed SLA schedule: D0 target ≥78%, bag delivery ≤20 min, FOD check compliance 100% | SLA negotiation concluded within 10 business days; penalty trigger at ≥3 consecutive monthly SLA breaches | N | N |
| 2.2 | Conduct legal and aviation safety compliance review | Legal Counsel | SAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO) | Draft IATA SGHA Main Agreement and Annex B, insurance certificates, local aviation authority operating permit | Legal sign-off memo; contract approved or returned with redlines | Legal review cycle ≤ 15 business days; zero unresolved liability caps at execution | Y | N |
| 2.3 | Execute contract and issue purchase order | Procurement Lead | SAP Ariba | Countersigned SGHA, approved budget in SAP cost centre, contract start date confirmed with station team | Executed contract stored in SAP Ariba repository; PO issued in SAP S/4HANA; vendor activated in supplier master | PO issued within 2 business days of contract execution; contract visible in SAP Ariba within same day | N | N |
Phase 3 3.1 |
Register vendor in airport operations system | Ground Ops Coordinator | SITA Airport Management System (AMS) | Executed contract, vendor contact list, station codes, service scope per aircraft type | Vendor profile active in SITA AMS with service assignments per stand and aircraft type | Vendor profile configured and tested in SITA AMS ≥ 5 business days before go-live | N | N |
| 3.2 | Configure KPI monitoring thresholds in performance dashboard | Performance Analyst | Tableau | Contracted SLA targets, SITA AMS data feeds, Amadeus Airport Management turnaround data | Live Tableau dashboard with amber/red KPI alerts per vendor, per station, per service type | Dashboard live and validated against 5 historical flights before go-live; alert latency ≤ 1 hour from event | N | N |
| 3.3 | Conduct pre-operations readiness assessment | Station Manager | SITA Airport Management System (AMS) | Vendor staff roster, GSE serviceability checklist, SITA AMS profile test results, safety induction completion records | Signed go/no-go readiness certificate; open items logged in Archer GRC if any | 100% of vendor staff complete airline safety induction before go-live; GSE serviceability ≥ 95% on day 1 | Y | Y |
Phase 4 4.1 |
Ingest daily turnaround performance data from ops systems | Performance Analyst | Amadeus Airport Management | SITA AMS event logs (chocks-on, door-open, door-close, chocks-off), ACARS timestamps, fuelling records | Validated daily performance dataset per vendor per flight sector | ≥ 98% of flights matched to vendor records within 24 hours; data completeness ≥ 99% | N | Y |
| 4.2 | Generate monthly vendor performance scorecard | Performance Analyst | Tableau | 30-day aggregated performance dataset, contracted SLA thresholds, prior month scorecard for trend analysis | Vendor scorecard PDF: D0 %, bag delivery time, FOD incidents, safety events, delay attribution | Scorecard issued by business day 5 of following month; D0 target ≥78%, bag delivery ≤20 min | N | N |
| 4.3 | Assess KPI compliance against contracted SLA thresholds | Ground Handling Manager | Tableau | Monthly vendor scorecard, SLA penalty schedule from SAP Ariba contract record | Compliance verdict per KPI: Green (met), Amber (within cure period), Red (penalty triggered) | Compliance assessment completed within 2 business days of scorecard publication; penalty invoice raised within 5 days of Red verdict | Y | N |
| 4.4 | Issue formal performance improvement notice to vendor | Contract Manager | SAP Ariba | Red KPI verdict, scorecard evidence, prior month trend data, contract penalty clause reference | Formal written performance improvement plan (PIP) with 30/60/90-day milestones logged in SAP Ariba | PIP issued within 5 business days of Red verdict; vendor root-cause response required within 10 business days | N | Y |
Phase 5 5.1 |
Conduct annual vendor safety and compliance audit | Ground Handling Auditor | Archer GRC | 12-month performance data, open PIP items, ISAGO renewal status, local regulatory inspection reports | Annual audit report with risk rating (Low/Medium/High) and mandatory corrective action items | Annual audit completed ≥ 90 days before contract renewal date; zero High-risk open findings at renewal | N | Y |
| 5.2 | Evaluate contract renewal versus re-tender decision | Head of Ground Operations | SAP Ariba | Annual audit report, 12-month KPI scorecard trend, market rate benchmarks, strategic station growth plan | Renewal or re-tender recommendation memo approved by VP Ground Operations | Decision memo issued ≥ 60 days before contract expiry; re-tender initiated if 12-month D0 average < 75% | Y | N |
| 5.3 | Execute contract renewal or initiate new sourcing cycle | Procurement Lead | SAP Ariba | Approved renewal or re-tender decision memo, updated scope (if changed), revised SLA targets | Renewed contract executed in SAP Ariba OR new RFP issued back at step 1.2; vendor master updated | Contract renewal executed ≥ 30 days before expiry; zero lapse in contractual coverage at any station | N | Y |
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