Global-SI delivery pod mobilization

Context

Mobilizing a delivery pod for a client engagement. Training isn't the bottleneck; offshore access to client systems (security clearance, VPN, badged accounts) is the longest pole, and it silently carries cost while people wait.

The decision

Pre-provision client access before day one: the SI mobilization bottleneck is offshore client-system clearance, so start it at contract signature — every day of provisioning is a day of carrying cost with zero output.

What most miss

Mobilization plans schedule training and assume access appears. In a global SI, client-security provisioning for offshore staff is the critical path and starts the day the SOW is signed, not the day people arrive.

Stakes

Two offshore engineers idle three weeks on access is pure carrying cost against a fixed-price margin.