Unlocking the Potential of Nearshore

The challenge

The asset management industry Client was facing several challenges stemming from its siloed organizational setup spread across Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South-East Asia. These challenges included:

• the lack of standardized approach across all markets
• imbalance in workloads among various units
• ineffective skill management throughout the organization
• risks resulting from skill shortages in local markets.

To address these issues, the Client aimed to adopt a nearshore setup by establishing a center of excellence in Poland. The goals were to:

• engage a highly skilled team of consultants equipped to support both the headquarters and individual market units
• maintain an optimized delivery model for clients, ensuring quality and commercial success.

The solution

7N worked closely with the Client to understand not just their current software solution and technology stack, but also the profiles of consultants needed to standardize this solution.

The collaboration began with a proof-of-concept. The Client wanted to engage the first consultant with a very unique skill set. Instead, 7N suggested a different approach – and engaged the team of three consultants with complementary competencies:

• a developer experienced in system integration and standardized solutions
• a senior specialist with financial and technical knowledge
• an expert in data analysis and project management.

Six months later, with the team delivering solid results, it was clear that the approach was effective. The collaboration developed in a structured way: with clearly defined roles, simplified processes, and robust governance measures.

It was the beginning of rapidly growing global center of excellence, which engaged consultants with diverse expertise, including databases, technology, finance, software development, and system integration.

On the ongoing basis, 7N was collaborating closely with a dedicated setup ambassador who, as an employee at the Client, promoted our solution internally, addressed organizational concerns, facilitated communication, and ensured that our consultants were well-trained.

The result

A year after onboarding the first consultants, the newly established global center of excellence received internal recognition, i.e. the "Innovation of the Year" award.

With involvement in global projects, it was growing fast yet organically. Within 2.5 years, the team expanded to 85 consultants, known for their high quality work and considered to be the best performing unit in the whole organization globally.

Apart from recruiting top talent, we also established a dedicated office for them, equipped with all necessary infrastructure, facilities, and a network that met Client's security standards.

The global center of excellence contributed to:

• improving work balance across different units
• standardizing software solution delivered
• better control of skill management on the global level

This success resulted from aligning consultants’ technical and soft skills with the Client's requirements. The eight-year long collaboration with 7N became a foundation for the Client to establish an independent branch in Poland operated by the Client themselves.

At present, it engages more than 300 consultants.