Facilities maintenance at an international airport is more than a matter of cleanliness and upkeep - it's a complex, high-stakes operation where efficiency, compliance, and continuous service delivery intersect. Tribus Advisory was engaged by a leading International Airport to lead the sourcing of a new facilities maintenance contract, covering critical services such as HVAC, cleaning, waste management, and groundskeeping across terminals and airside operations.

What made this engagement unique was not the scope - but the volume, fragmentation, and inconsistency of the data provided. With over a decade’s worth of maintenance records across multiple departments and legacy systems, our first challenge was clarity.

From Data Chaos to Strategic Clarity

Upon initial review, Apex International’s data environment reflected a common issue in asset-intensive operations: siloed systems, variable cost coding, and inconsistent performance metrics across service lines. Rather than rushing to market with assumptions, Tribus took a data-led approach.

Our team conducted a comprehensive spend analysis, mapping historical costs against service levels and timeframes. We identified duplicate services, underutilised resources, and embedded supplier inefficiencies that had long gone unnoticed. This process revealed not only cost-saving opportunities but also operational redundancies that could be streamlined under a new service model.

Tribus created a strategic sourcing plan anchored in evidence - not guesswork - and clearly defined output-based specifications to support future performance-based contracts.

Strategic Negotiation for Maximum Value

With a clear picture of what the airport truly needed - and what it had been paying for - Tribus led a competitive sourcing process with a targeted negotiation strategy. Our goal wasn’t just cost reduction; it was value maximisation.

Through structured negotiation rounds and supplier engagement, we delivered a commercial outcome that exceeded expectations: expanded service inclusions at a reduced unit rate, bundled efficiently under a single-provider model to reduce interface risk and improve accountability.

The final contract increased service coverage by 18% and reduced total contract cost by 12% annually - while introducing KPIs, incentive clauses, and digital reporting tools for improved contract management.

Empowering Sustainable Operations

Beyond the commercial wins, the new contract model embedded sustainability objectives aligned with the airport’s ESG commitments. Waste targets, energy-efficient operations, and reporting transparency were built into the supplier agreements - a step change from the prior approach.

For Apex International Airport, this project was more than a sourcing event; it was a transformation of how facilities maintenance is procured, measured, and managed.

Conclusion
At Tribus Advisory, we turn data complexity into strategic opportunity. Our work with Apex International Airport demonstrates the power of rigorous analysis and structured negotiation in delivering not just contracts - but commercial advantage.