Rockford Airport Authority Replaces Chaos with Control and Sees 366% ROI with SOVRA

Located in Northern Illinois, the Greater Rockford Airport Authority oversees one of the fastest-growing cargo airports in the United States. With millions in annual federal and state funding and a critical role in regional infrastructure, the Authority manages complex procurement needs with high compliance stakes.

Challenge: Everyone Was Doing Procurement… Differently

Before SOVRA, procurement at the Greater Rockford Airport Authority was decentralized and disjointed. “Everybody was doing procurement, and of course, everybody did it in a different way,” said Chip Geiger, Procurement Officer, who brought 47 years of supply chain management experience into his new role at the Airport Authority. “It depended on Word documents, spreadsheets, manual vendor lists, and people’s memory.” Without a centralized system, transparency was difficult, DBE tracking was non-existent, and contract expirations often went unnoticed.

Solution: Structure, Scale, and Simplicity in One Platform 

Geiger started small, utilizing SOVRA’s basic bid features, and quickly realized the value of a centralized system with an auditable vendor history, automated addendums, and searchable supplier data. “I got rid of the manual Excel vendor lists and trying to figure out who can do what,” he said. “Now, addendums don’t have to go out manually. It saved me a tremendous amount of time.”

From there, the Airport Authority added contract management functionality and gradually built out its use of advanced sourcing features on the platform, including DBE tracking and vendor registration support. The entire operation now runs on a single, connected database. “You post something once and refer to it when you need it. SOVRA’s been able to do that for me.”

Results: Tangible ROI, Stronger Oversight, Better Access 

• 366.93% Average ROI Over Five Years
  With Chip’s leadership and guidance, the Rockford Airport Authority has achieved, on average, a 366.93% return on investment (ROI) from procurement operations over the past 5 years. “Any purchasing department should be at least 100%. I’ve been upwards of 700%. That just gives them an idea of what we can do.”
• 55+ Vendors Notified Per Bid
  Using SOVRA’s digital posting and supplier engagement tools, Rockford Airport notifies over 55 vendors per opportunity, dramatically expanding reach and visibility.
  
  “Before this, our procurement info wasn’t even on our website. Now, I tell people, just go to flyrfd.com and you’ll see everything we do.”
• 15+ DBE Metrics Tracked
  Geiger built a transparent and auditable DBE program from the ground up, going beyond federal requirements to track:
  • Who receives and downloads the bid
  • Which DBEs submit
  • Who wins
  • Year-over-year participation rates
  
  “Anybody can say they have a DBE program. I can show you a list of 15 metrics that I’m tracking.”

Favorite Features: Automation, Audit Trails, and Supplier Education 

• Bid Distribution & Addendum Tracking
  With manual processes, tracking which version of a solicitation each person had was nearly impossible. Now, the system automatically logs views, downloads, and communications. “Just the tracking of who’s got my bids, who’s submitting a bid, where my addendums are going, it helps tremendously.”
• Supplier Education and Access
  Geiger proactively educates vendors about the platform and even created step-by-step registration guides. This hands-on support has helped remove barriers for smaller or less tech-savvy vendors. “I tell them, if you have a Facebook account and email, then you can do online bids. It’s an education process, and I help them get there.”
• Contract Management Visibility
  The days of contracts expiring unnoticed are over. SOVRA’s contract tools ensure documentation is accessible and deadlines don’t fall through the cracks. “Now I make sure it gets in the hands of those managers so that they at least know that the contract was out there.”