success story
Southwest Airlines fills critical workforce needs with Beeline VMS
85% of staff augmentation roles are self-sourced, saving an average of $20,000 per assignment per year
- Industry
- Airline
- Client Since
- 2015
- Category
- Contingent Staffing, Resource Tracking, Direct Sourcing
The challenge
For years, Southwest Airlines managed its contingent workforce using spreadsheets and databases, with recruiters recording sourcing activity, onboarding progress, and other critical information manually. The effort was tedious, and the data recorded was inconsistent and unreliable – a considerable risk in the heavily regulated airline industry. When federal rules required airlines to provide detailed information about the training their non-employees completed, this information proved impossible to provide and Southwest faced the prospect of looming audits and potential financial penalties.
In addition to these external pressures, the airline faced other concerns. Internal departments began to call for greater transparency and control over non-employees. Without a centralized system for tracking and managing these workers, there was no way to know who had access to Southwest’s facilities, data networks, and intellectual property at any given time. To gain the control they needed over their extended workforce, Southwest Airlines implemented a vendor management system (VMS) by Beeline.
Without a centralized system for tracking and managing these workers, there was no way to know who had access to Southwest’s facilities, data networks, and intellectual property at any given time.
The solution
Beeline initially focused on tracking and managing the airline’s contingent resources, from the creation of requisitions, through sourcing, procurement, management, and supplier invoicing. The system also provided analytic tools to determine cost savings, evaluate vendor performance, and provide business intelligence for better operational control and strategic planning. With the success of its contingent worker program, Southwest elected to expand the program’s capabilities to track and manage all non-employees.
The results
Beeline VMS has been a tremendous success with Southwest Airline’s managers and the airline overall, helping to achieve program cost savings while mitigating security and compliance risks. With a single system of record for all nonemployees, Southwest has experienced the following benefits:
- Better resource management: Southwest always knows who its non-employees are, where they are, and what they are working on.
- Enhanced compliance: The system tracks and verifies all activity, including FAA-mandated training, and ensures compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory and internal compliance measures.
- Cost savings: Southwest was among the first Beeline clients to adopt direct sourcing. Today, 85% of staff augmentation roles are self-sourced, saving an average of $20,000 per assignment per year. Additional volume and tenure discounts are implemented with staffing suppliers, driving substantial savings.
- Reduced time to fill: 29% (6-day) reduction when sourcing from Southwest Airlines’ curated candidate pool.
- Ease of use: Expanded resource tracking required no additional internal resources and minimal change management when added to Southwest’s existing Beeline VMS.
- Detailed reporting: The airline has access to comprehensive information—including headcount, onboarding progress, security clearances, and more— on demand, so they are always prepared for an audit.
- Verified security: Automated facilities and network security protocols protect the airline against breaches of physical and intellectual property.
Beeline’s technology and Southwest’s talent acquisition program have both advanced dramatically in the last 15 years. It’s been a collaborative, mutually beneficial partnership.
