Managing large projects and tight deadlines

BACKGROUND

This large and well-known car manufacturer was looking for a trustworthy translation provider to support the launch of new car models in 5 European countries in 2021. The material to translate was highly technical, destined to internal and external customers: training material for engineers and dealers, owner manuals and materials for customers. This also included training videos for which we provided subtitling and voice-over.

CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS

Meeting deadlines was of paramount importance for our client as the documentation had to be published on time to support the sale of each new car model around Europe. After agreeing the projects’ timetable and target languages for each one, we agreed how much time was going to be allocated for translation and formatting. Translators had to be “local” to guarantee language accuracy and appropriacy. Editing is an essential part of every project as each document needs to feel as if it was written for that market. To support this process, Impact developed technical glossaries and developed a translation memory to ensure consistency across projects.

CHALLENGES

• Fast and reliable translation
• Tight deadlines
• Large volumes of text in 5 target languages
• Teams of translators, editors, project managers and formatters across Europe 
• Time management for different content per language
• Smooth transfer of finished documents

RESULTS

Since 2021 5 different projects were delivered on time for a total of 16,000,000 (2021) 4 millions (2022) words over just 6 months. All the client’s engineers were able to check the material for consistency and add their edits within the given time. Although some of our translators were affected by COVID directly or indirectly, the work flow, quality and delivery met the standards required. All the client’s engineers had easy access to documents, which made the process transparent and easy. Our flexible model enabled us to deliver precisely what the client wanted.

SUMMARY

Thanks to a highly professional team and efficient management, our client:

• met the launch date for each car model
• reduced the cost of project management by trusting us with that across Europe
• delivered quality material in all 5 languages
• stayed on budget

Written by Lara Panzini

About the author

Lara Panzini started her carrier in education as a qualified primary school teacher. She holds a BSc (First Class Honours) Professional Studies from London University – Academic research methods applied to the workplace. She specialised in language teaching by obtaining a TEFL certificate and a certificate in Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language, RSA Diploma in Teaching Foreign Language to Adults (DTFLA), RSA Assessor Award: Training and Development (NCVQ: Level 3) and is a Business Cultural Trainer.