Richard Copeland, the founder of SOWLVED, has led many major service delivery transformations, particularly for UK government-backed organisations that have faced significant operational roadblocks.

With a proven track record in supporting organisations that are struggling with IR35 risk, inconsistent quality, slow hiring processes and rising costs, Rich enables businesses to overcome service delivery barriers.

Here is a breakdown of how he supported one particular public sector client; 

Client Challenges

• IR35 & Off-Payroll Working (OPWR) compliance risks

• A reactive, recruitment-based supply chain, causing inefficiencies and delays

• Variable and unpredictable costs for similar skill sets

• Lack of standardisation, impacting service quality and consistency

• Time-based billing (T&M) that didn’t drive value or productivity

• Slow hiring cycles (8–10 weeks from request to mobilisation)

• Inability to scale quickly in response to project needs

The Transformation

Recognising the need for a strategic, structured approach to service delivery, Rich spearheaded an initiative that moved the organisation away from traditional recruitment and into a scalable, outcome-based model. This transformation included:

• Building a Strategic Delivery Partner Model

Replacing the reactive agency approach with trusted, outcome-driven partners, ensuring higher-quality service delivery and accountability.

• Mapping Roles to the SFIA Framework

Aligning job roles with the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) to standardise competencies and ensure the right expertise was in place for each project.

• Productised Services & Standardised Deliverables

Developing Service Definition Documents (SDDs) shifted the model away from traditional CV sifting and interviews. Instead, it focused on clear, structured deliverables, improving efficiency and project outcomes.

• Implementing Capacity & Demand Planning

Introducing proactive forecasting tools provided supply chain partners with early visibility into resource needs, enabling faster and more efficient talent mobilisation.

• Automating Service Management & Real-Time Tracking

Introducing SOWLVED to replace legacy timesheets and enable real-time tracking of deliverables and Statements of Work (SoWs). Approvals, invoicing, and payments were aligned to delivery progress, not just hours worked, and suppliers and teams had greater visibility into project milestones.

• Establishing Risk & Change Management Processes

A new RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies) and Service Alert framework improved risk visibility and provided a structured approach for managing SoW change requests.

The Results

The transformation delivered tangible, high-impact results:

• Faster, more agile project delivery, enabling the organisation to adapt rapidly to changing priorities

• Time-to-hire reduced by over 75%; from 8-10 weeks down to just 10 days

• £20k per resource cost savings through strategic supplier partnerships and efficiency gains

• £1.5M+ in annual savings via improved resource cost control

• Full IR35 compliance assurance from an independent tax specialist, mitigating financial and reputational risks

• Recognised as an ‘exemplar’ service by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)

The Takeaway

This transformation wasn’t just about cost-cutting, it was about building a more efficient, scalable and resilient service delivery model that could support complex government projects with speed and precision.

Through a structured, outcome-driven approach the client began to drive measurable results and unlock new levels of efficiency and agility in their service delivery. By replacing outdated, reactive models with a clear, outcomes-focused approach, the client achieved rapid cost and time savings and established a foundation for long-term scalability and resilience.

By rethinking service delivery through structure, strategy, and smart technology, Rich delivers remarkable results for clients, even those in the public sectors most complex, compliance-heavy organisations and departments.

Through the Owl Consultancy, and by utilising products like SOWLVED Tech government-backed organisations can move faster, deliver better outcomes, and build trust through transparency, efficiency, and innovation.

If your organisation faces similar challenges in resource management, contract deliverables, or service optimisation, let’s talk: [email protected].