Dedicated team extension modernises AFC’s fleet-claims platform

About the client

Since 1998, AFC has delivered digital solutions for repair and damage management across commercial vehicle fleets. The company has processed more than 140,000 vehicles and settled over one million claims, giving customers secure, cost-efficient, and administratively simple service. Rapid growth created pressure to scale and maintain several legacy applications. AFC sought a technology partner able to extend its in-house team, keep quality high, and accelerate delivery. Hence, the collaboration with HW.Tech.

Problem statement

AFC’s expanding client base demanded faster feature delivery across a wide mix of technologies. Internal engineers faced mounting backlogs, which slowed updates and hindered new product launches.

• Time-to-market pressure. Shorten time to market by boosting development capacity.
• Legacy modernisation. Upgrade legacy PHP and React components to support new business rules.
• Green-field delivery. Launch green-field products without disrupting live systems.

Challenge

Modernising several mission-critical applications required deep domain knowledge, multi-stack skills, and seamless cooperation with AFC’s core team. Security rules and tight budgets ruled out traditional outsourcing; scarce local talent made hiring slow and costly. HW.Tech had to assemble senior specialists quickly, align them with in-house workflows, and preserve code quality while introducing new products.

• Multi-stack estate. Demanded full-stack expertise across PHP, React, and AWS services.
• Technical debt. Legacy code carried technical debt, increasing risk during refactoring and feature expansion.
• Parallel growth. Continuous business growth requires parallel development streams with minimal downtime.
• Compliance guardrails. GDPR compliance and insurer regulations enforced strict data-protection practices.
• Talent scarcity. Recruiting senior engineers locally proved slow and exceeded budget limits.
• Data synergy. The product roadmap included brand-new apps that shared data with existing platforms.

Solution

HW.Tech delivered a team-extension model: six senior specialists onboarded in ten days after first CVs, joining AFC’s agile squads under a 14-day trial with a 20% discount. Engineers refactored core services, introduced automated testing, and built two new applications, Nobleglass booking API plus PhotoApp for damage estimation, while UI/UX and QA experts raised overall product quality.

• Rapid discovery. Deep discovery session mapped systems, skills, and budget expectations within one week.
• Cost-efficient staffing. Rapid staffing cuts hiring costs by up to 60% versus local recruitment.
• Quality pipeline. Continuous integration pipeline added unit tests and static analysis, reducing regressions.
• Automated booking. New booking API automated glass-repair scheduling across partner workshops.
• Remote assessment. PhotoApp enabled remote damage assessment and just-in-time spare parts ordering.
• Clear governance. A dedicated account manager ensured transparent communication and KPI tracking.
• Global expertise. Top 1% LATAM & Philippines talent brought fresh perspective and time-zone overlap.

Result

The extended team cut release cycles, delivered two revenue-generating applications, and stabilised existing platforms without inflating overhead. AFC praised the squad’s proactive issue resolution, skill depth, and flexibility when new requirements emerged.

• Lean hiring spend. Achieved a 60% reduction in staffing costs through nearshore specialists.
• Rapid onboarding. New hires integrate in just ten days, accelerating roadmap execution.
• Elevated release velocity. Process overhaul drives 40% quicker feature delivery.
• Remote damage appraisal. PhotoApp trims repair-shop lead times by enabling off-site assessments.
• Defect prevention. Robust automated tests cut post-release bugs by 35%.
• Elastic workforce. Flexible resourcing model lets AFC adjust headcount within days.