How EngineWorks helped FETCH replace offshore development with AI-led product delivery.
From a 10-developer offshore team to a lean AI-powered engineering model — saving £20k per month and delivering a three-year roadmap in six months.
FETCH Technology Group is a hospitality technology company providing digital ordering, payments, loyalty, feedback and guest experience solutions to hotels, restaurants and hospitality operators.
The business had ambitious growth plans, a strong customer pipeline and a broad product roadmap. But its development model was holding it back. FETCH had been relying on a traditional offshore development team of around ten developers. While this created the appearance of capacity, the model was expensive, slow to manage and not delivering at the pace the business needed.
EngineWorks was brought in to help FETCH move away from its legacy outsourced development model and transition to a faster, leaner, AI-led engineering approach. The result was a major transformation in speed, cost and control.
The Challenge
FETCH had invested heavily in its technology platform, but the existing development model had become too slow, expensive and difficult to control. The company needed to support enterprise customers, complex integrations and a growing product suite — but the traditional offshore model created several blockers:
- Development cycles taking too long
- Monthly development costs too high
- Slow, expensive product changes
- Bugs and technical issues consuming management time
- Limited leadership control over delivery speed
- Commercial priorities slow to reach the roadmap
- Difficult to respond to new customer requirements
- Product roadmap expected to take around three years
FETCH didn't need another large development team. It needed a smarter delivery model.
The EngineWorks Approach
Rather than simply replacing one outsourced team with another, EngineWorks helped FETCH move to a lean AI-led engineering structure built around senior technical ownership, product clarity and AI-assisted development.
1. Reclaiming Product Control
We brought product ownership closer to the business — creating a tight link between commercial priorities, customer feedback and technical execution. The roadmap was shaped around what FETCH actually needed to sell, deploy and scale.
2. Replacing Offshore Scale with AI-Led Speed
FETCH moved away from a traditional offshore team of around ten developers towards a leaner AI-assisted engineering model. AI workflows accelerated coding, debugging, documentation, testing and iteration — used as a force multiplier for senior people, not a replacement for technical leadership.
3. Reducing Development Cost
Moving away from the legacy outsourced development model reduced FETCH's monthly development cost base by approximately £20,000 — £240,000 saved per year, £720,000 over three years, and a materially lower fixed cost base with a clearer path to profitability.
4. Accelerating the Roadmap
Under the previous model, FETCH's product roadmap was expected to take around three years. Using EngineWorks' AI-led approach, it was delivered in approximately six months — pulling forward around 30 months of product delivery and creating a major commercial advantage.
5. Building a Scalable Platform for Growth
We helped FETCH transition to a cleaner, next-generation platform supporting digital menus, order and pay, scan and pay, in-room dining, staff handheld ordering, loyalty integrations, guest feedback and centralised admin — easier to evolve, easier to support and aligned with the future roadmap.
The Results
With support from EngineWorks, FETCH moved from a slow, expensive offshore development structure to a faster, leaner and more scalable AI-led product delivery model.
- Replaced dependency on a 10-developer offshore team
- Reduced development overhead by ~£20,000 per month
- ~£720,000 of direct development savings over three years
- Three-year roadmap completed in approximately six months
- Pulled forward ~30 months of product delivery
- Improved product control and roadmap ownership
- Reduced management time spent chasing outsourced delivery
- Faster response to customer and partner requirements
- Leaner technical operating model
- Improved path to profitability
Most importantly, FETCH regained control of its technology — and could now build, test and improve products at a speed much better aligned with customer demand and commercial opportunity.
The ROI
The direct cost saving alone was approximately £20,000 per month — £720,000 over three years. The larger commercial return came from accelerating the roadmap: six months of delivery against a previously expected three years.
Direct cost reduction
Development overhead reduced by approximately £20,000 per month.
Roadmap acceleration
A three-year product roadmap completed in approximately six months.
Revenue pulled forward
FETCH could sell, deploy and monetise key products much earlier than originally expected.
Reduced management overhead
Leadership spent less time managing outsourced delivery and more time on customers, growth and strategy.
Lower technical risk
A senior-led AI delivery model gave FETCH greater control over architecture, quality and scalability.
Improved investor story
Lower burn, faster delivery and a stronger product platform improved the route to profitability.
- • 10-developer offshore model replaced
- • £20,000 monthly development saving
- • £240,000 annual saving
- • £720,000 direct saving over three years
- • Three-year roadmap completed in six months
- • 30 months of delivery pulled forward
- • £1m+ estimated commercial benefit
- • Faster delivery, lower cost and greater product control
When direct cost savings, avoided delays and earlier commercial availability are combined, the estimated benefit to FETCH is more than £1 million over the next three years.
Why This Matters
Many growing businesses face the same problem. They've invested heavily in software, but their development model is too slow, too expensive or too difficult to control — relying on offshore teams, legacy agencies, technical debt or roadmaps that seem to take years to deliver.
EngineWorks helps businesses break out of that cycle. By combining senior technical leadership, product strategy and AI-assisted engineering, we enable companies to move faster, reduce costs and take back control of their technology.
Conclusion
FETCH's transformation shows what's possible when a business replaces traditional outsourced development with an AI-led engineering model. The result was lower cost, faster delivery, greater control and a stronger platform for future growth.
You don't need a bigger development team. You need a smarter development model.
Is your development roadmap taking too long?
EngineWorks helps businesses replace slow, expensive development models with AI-led product delivery. Book a discovery call to see how much time and cost you could save.