1. A Non-Performant Engineering Vendor

Productivity was in decline, and costs no longer justified the value delivered.

Trust between Pelican and the offshore vendor was breaking down.

Delivery delays were beginning to impact their high-stakes banking clients.

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2. A High-Stakes Business Moment:

Pelican was preparing for a Reverse Takeover(RTO), transitioning into a publicly traded company. For this crucial process, reliable delivery, output stability, and engineering quality were non-negotiable.

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3. The Need for Global Expansion

Beyond resolving the vendor crisis, Pelican aimed to expand its workforce into South America to access a new pool of skilled engineers and support long-term scaling.

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Failure to address these issues risked:

• Loss of trust with top global banks.

• Delays in critical compliance software delivery.

• Legal and financial exposure for their clients.

• A negative impact on their public listing timeline.

Pelican AI, a Canadian AI powerhouse, develops mission-critical software for major global banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Santander, TD, and BMO. Their solutions are vital for secure payments, sanction screening, and compliance automation, safely processing billions of dollars daily.

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However, the global engineering engine supporting this crucial software was under significant strain. Despite having over 100 engineers, Pelican AI faced declining performance, rising costs, and a deteriorating relationship with their large off shore engineering vendor. This deterioration led to delivery delays, directly impacting their tier-one banking clients who demand zero tolerance for compliance lapses.

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Type B was brought in as a strategic partner to navigate this complex challenge, understanding the necessity of addressing technology, global workforce strategy, vendor transitions, and new market expansion.

1. Diagnosing the Vendor Relationship

A deep assessment of the existing offshore vendor was conducted, analyzing:

• Team performance and delivery quality.

• Productivity gaps and cost structures.

• Leadership alignment and communication patterns.

• This comprehensive mapping identified core systemic failures within the engineering function.

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2. Workforce Mapping and Role Structuring

Type B analyzed all 100+engineering roles and restructured the organization for optimal efficiency.

This included creating:

• Detailed role maps and scalability models.

• Identification of optimal team sizing, moving from over 110 engineers to the exact 75-90 roles necessary for efficiency.

• Clear performance expectations.

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3. Vendor Identification and Transition Management

After evaluating the options of building an in-house office versus transitioning to a new vendor , Type B guided Pelican toward a new vendor partner.

Type B executed the:

• Design of the selection process.

• Due diligence.

• Facilitation of all change-management activities.

• Full support for the transition from the former vendor to the new partner, which Pelican successfully completed.

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4. International Expansion into South America

To build a more resilient and diversified international workforce, Type B launched recruitment initiatives in South America, securing a new talent pool for Pelican's future growth.