Nearshore Case Study

E-commerce


Our client, a innovative company within the e-commerce and creative marketplace space, based in the United Kingdom, was facing a critical challenge. They needed to rapidly expand their development team to keep pace with the increasing demand for their platform’s services. This growing demand required a fast and efficient solution to enhance their platform and serve their users effectively.

The challenge

  1. Rapid Growth: The company experienced a surge in demand for their platform, requiring rapid expansion of their development team.

  2. Integrate with their work culture: Nearshoring was a thought out solution but choosing Portugal for their expansion through velv was key, as the team seamlessly integrated with the existing work culture.

  3. Talent Acquisition: Finding and onboarding highly skilled developers quickly while ensuring quality was a challenge.

  4. Cost-Efficiency: Balancing the need for top talent with cost-effectiveness was also a concern.

Approach and Solution

Faced with growing development demands and a need to scale quickly, a UK-based online marketplace engaged Velv to design and execute a nearshore strategy that could deliver both speed and long-term efficiency. Velv responded by assembling a highly skilled, cross-functional team embedded within the client’s culture and processes from day one.

Team Composition and Technical Capabilities

The team includes Java developers, Angular specialists, mobile engineers (iOS and Android), and DevOps professionals. These profiles were selected to ensure comprehensive support across the client’s technology stack, enabling end-to-end delivery capabilities from user-facing front ends to robust back-end infrastructure and automated CI/CD pipelines.

The developers are not only technically proficient but also carefully aligned with the client’s ways of working. Velv ensured a deep cultural fit and seamless integration into the client’s agile delivery structure, with all team members participating in daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives as if they were internal hires.

Nearshore Strategy and Integration

From the outset, Velv proposed a nearshore strategy built around real-time collaboration, cultural proximity, and long-term partnership. By operating in a close time zone and using modern communication and project management tools, the team was able to work in tight sync with the client’s UK-based product and engineering units. The onboarding process was streamlined to ensure a smooth transition, with clear documentation, shared rituals, and active involvement from both sides in the ramp-up phase.

What set this collaboration apart was the team’s ability to not just deliver code, but actively contribute to the client’s product thinking, quality standards, and operational excellence. Developers worked closely with stakeholders, proactively identifying opportunities to enhance performance, streamline deployment, and reduce technical debt.

The Result

In just a few months this nearshore team grew from zero to more than 10 developers—each deeply embedded in the client’s product teams. The partnership proved so successful that the client adopted a strategic shift: future development hires would be made through Velv. The team is now on track to reach fifteen developers, and the client is confident this nearshore model has delivered amazing results at lower costs.

The benefits were immediate and measurable. Delivery velocity increased without sacrificing quality. The client experienced reduced time-to-market for new features, improved system stability, and a leaner cost structure. Just as importantly, feedback from internal stakeholders confirmed that the nearshore team felt fully integrated—not an external partner, but a true extension of the client’s engineering function.

This collaboration stands as one of Velv’s most successful scaling stories, demonstrating how a carefully executed nearshore strategy can achieve both immediate wins and long-term transformation.