11/09/2025

Increasing volumes, new sales markets or additional process steps rapidly stretch established structures in translation management to their limits. At oneword, we are all too familiar with situations where developed structures fail and customers are left seeking support. In this article, you will learn how to detect issues in your translation management at an early stage and how long-term collaboration with a professional translation service provider maximises your resources.

Things that were manageable with a few documents and two languages quickly develop into complex undertakings in a growing company. “Minor” secondary tasks in translation management become a time-consuming principal occupation. Delays become more frequent, quality falters and coordinating processes ties up valuable resources. Such problems often go unnoticed to begin with and only become apparent when the psychological strain becomes too much. Our extensive experience has taught us when it is time to establish professional structures, to manage the considerable internal effort or a lack of expertise in new sales markets and languages, for example. We have identified five key warning signs and gathered our solutions for efficient translation management.

The first warning sign becomes apparent when the internal coordination of translation processes ties up a disproportional amount of resources and specialists from their actual roles. A typical example: A technical editor spends half her working time coordinating translation jobs rather than creating operating manuals. She contacts freelancers, checks availabilities and sends files. The situation before product launches becomes especially critical when technical documentation must be finalised while translations must also be coordinated for the international roll-out.

The solution is found in the professional improvement of processes to once again focus on what is really important. With an experienced translation service provider who takes over full coordination, resources can be increased flexibly and peaks overcome with ease. Our specially trained project managers take care of your projects, using professional tools to efficiently and optimally support every step of the translation process. This support frees up your employees, enabling them to give their full attention to their core areas of expertise.

The second critical issue concerns a lack of objective evaluation principles for the quality of your translations. One example scenario: a Japanese distribution partner reports that the translations sound “strange” and are unsuitable for the local market. However, without the corresponding linguistic expertise and clear evaluation standards, it is not possible to judge whether this is a case of genuine translation errors, personal preference or overlooked regional peculiarities. This uncertainty results in endless discussions between the translator and the branches, while no-one can provide impartial mediation. In extreme cases, the total lack of clarity means that whole texts are fully re-translated – at the expense of an enormous amount of time and money.

The solution is professional complaint management: change requests are checked by our project managers and translators. At the same time, our network of qualified professional translators also enables objective second opinions at all times. We systematically differentiate between actual errors, stylistic queries and regional preferences. Technical corrections are entered straight into terminology databases to ensure the correct translation is used in the long term. If you prefer, we also take over communication with the branches to streamline coordination processes and counteract misunderstandings.

The third warning sign becomes apparent in the declining performance of your existing translation service provider. Symptoms of this decline, such as regularly missed delivery dates, can impact the entire company. If, for example, translated manuals arrive three days too late, in the worst case this can delay the entire product launch. Declining translation quality also quickly results in additional work, dissatisfaction and, of course, harbours the risk of mistakes. This often develops gradually. Many companies shy away from the change because the outlay appears too great.

A professional fresh start can be very simple. At oneword, we start with a thorough needs analysis, where our aim is to learn what is important to you: why do you require translations, which workflows do you envisage and which tools or services can your translation management system reasonably support? We then use this information to develop transparent, binding conditions with no hidden costs.

The fourth warning sign concerns insufficient continuity of care from your translation service provider. The issue becomes especially apparent when every phone call is with a different person who is not familiar with your project or your specific requirements. They then need to clarify the same specifications again and again: specific product terms that must not be translated, your technical texts require a certain style or deliveries must always be before midday on Thursday. This lack of continuity costs time and frays nerves. Important details are quickly lost and quality wavers from project to project.

We take a systematic approach to ensure continuity during consultation and support: fixed project management teams with clear responsibilities provide meaningful, long-term support and actively contribute ideas. All project and company-related information is stored centrally and can be accessed by every authorised member of the team. We also rely on core translators, who incorporate your corporate texts and specialised terminology to guarantee consistently high quality.

The fifth warning sign is increasingly complex translation processes resulting from gaps in the service portfolio of your current partner. It can be particularly problematic if your documents need to go through relay languages in the absence of direct translation – such as Asian languages that must first be translated into English before being translated into the target language. This doubles costs and delivery times while simultaneously increasing the risk of errors. Further inefficiencies arise when your service provider doesn’t support professional terminology management or if you need to instruct an additional agency for desktop publishing to complete the final layout for the translated documents. This is because each additional service provider means that more effort is required for coordination and provides new sources of error.

As a full-service provider we combine all the necessary services under one roof. We offer direct translations in all languages, professional terminology management, integrated desktop publishing and extensive expertise in the MTPE sector. Our specialists from various sectors collaborate right from the start. During consultations, all relevant experts are on hand to develop comprehensive solutions. This means we do away with the expensive patchwork of various providers and streamline your processes.

After countless initial consultations, we are now familiar with these warning signs. Companies that have worked with improvised solutions and fragmented processes for years often experience significant relief after switching to professional structures. The proliferation of Excel lists, e-mail communication and various service providers gives way to a systematic approach.

Which of these warning signs do you recognise from your company? If any of the situations described seem familiar to you, you should consider the professional improvement of your translation processes. This investment will pay for itself several times over: CAT tools and translation memory continually reduce costs. Your employees regain valuable working hours. Expensive mistakes will be avoided from the outset. With the right partner at your side, time-consuming challenges can turn into efficient processes that support your international growth rather than curbing it.

Professionalise your translation processes and make the jump from patchwork to system together with us. Our experts will perform a free assessment to analyse your current circumstances and develop a path to professional translation processes together with you. Arrange your no-obligation assessment consultation using our contact form.