A translation management system (TMS) is a software platform designed to manage, streamline, and simplify the entire translation process. It offers a whole range of functionalities for handling multilingual projects.

Consider the TMS a centralized hub for all your translation efforts.

Think of all the different types of files that need to be translated for a manufacturing company alone:

• technical documents
• CAD drawings
• assembly instructions
• training materials
• marketing content

Each file may have complex formatting elements, graphics, and engineering diagrams – the list goes on. The TMS helps keep track of everything.

Here are some core features and functionalities a TMS for manufacturers typically offers:

• Project Management: Gives companies complete control over the entire translation process from setting deadlinesto tracking progress in real time and ensuring that all language assets used are the latest and up-to-date ones.
• Translator Collaboration: Allows all stakeholders involved in the localization process to work together efficiently in a centralized environment, ensuring clarity and consistency in translations as well as decreasing delays and bottlenecks derived from offline communication.
• Workflow Automation: Automates repetitive tasks, such as file preparation, project submission, routing assignments, and notifications, eliminating unnecessary delays.

Additional features critical for manufacturers include:

• Terminology Management: A glossary or termbase is essential for consistently using technical terminology throughout all translated content. TMS solutions with integrated terminology management help ensure that your products and components are always referred to correctly in all languages.
• Integration with content repository: Seamless integration with existing content repositories allows for automated import and export of content between both platforms, which saves considerable time in project creation and also decreases the risk of human error.
• File Format Support: Manufacturers frequently work with similar file formats throughout their production processes. A TMS can be configured to handle these file types, converting them as needed and automatically applying the correct workflows, saving a significant amount of time.

A successful TMS solution implementation involves more than choosing the right software. It requires carefully assessing your existing systems and a well-crafted plan to bring your chosen TMS into your localization process with minimal disruption. Let’s break down the key steps involved:

Start by identifying the types of content you routinely translate, whether it’s technical documentation, marketing brochures, packaging materials, or website content. Next, determine the volume of content that needs translation and the languages required.

Having a clear understanding of your current translation workload and objectives is essential.

Evaluate the features and functionality of different solutions and consider their scalability to accommodate your company’s potential growth. Pay close attention to industry-specific capabilities that align with the unique demands of manufacturing. Also, make sure you do your research on the MT engine–different engines can give different results.

Setting up your workflows involves defining the process steps, such as content intake, preparing materials for translation, assigning translators, quality assurance, and final delivery. By streamlining and automating these processes within the TMS, you’ll gain significant time and cost savings.

Many manufacturers use enterprise resource planning (ERP) or product lifecycle management (PLM) systems to control processes, track production, and manage inventory. Make sure your chosen TMS can communicate seamlessly with these systems, ensuring a smooth flow of data and reducing the potential for information silos.

This integration will help maintain consistency and accuracy across all your systems, while facilitating efficient use of translated content throughout your production pipeline. It also allows non-professionals in the language or translation industry (marketing, developers, etc.) stay with tools they already know instead of learning something new.

The benefits of implementing a TMS system go beyond theory. Let’s look at a real-world example of how automating the translation management process has transformed the localization process for a major player in the manufacturing industry – Crown Equipment Corporation.

Founded in 1945, Crown Equipment is a family-owned, global leader in material handling equipment. With manufacturing facilities on multiple continents and a workforce exceeding 15,000 employees, Crown operates in a truly international arena.

Their emphasis on innovation is evident in their vast product range and the fact that they produce up to 85% of their own lift truck components in-house. Localization is core to their success as they strive to deliver a seamless user experience to customers worldwide.

In 2015, Crown faced a decentralized and fragmented approach to localization.

Different departments managed their translation needs independently, often working with different suppliers, leading to:

• Duplication of Work: Effort and cost were needlessly duplicated as similar content was translated multiple times.
• Inconsistent Terminology and Brand Voice: Lacking a centralized approach created discrepancies in how their products were represented across various languages, diluting the brand’s messaging.
• Poor Localization for Different Markets: Content not adequately adapted to individual markets created a disconnect with customers, leading them to perceive the products as generic and not tailored to their needs.

Recognizing the need for change, Crown started the process of revitalizing their localization strategy. In 2016, they began a thorough research phase, followed by the adoption of a centralized technology stack in 2017.

This included implementing XTM Cloud as their translation management system (TMS) and Acrolinx for terminology management.

The system integration continued to evolve as they connected Acrolinx with XTM Cloud, ensuring consistent brand voice and terminology across all translations. Since its initial adoption, Crown has tailored XTM Cloud even further to meet their specific needs and has begun exploring ways to leverage machine translation to optimize time and cost efficiency.

Crown’s centralized TMS approach has yielded impressive results:

• Cost Savings: They are saving $1 million annually thanks to the streamlined workflow and reduced duplication of effort.
• Streamlined Processes: Standardized, automated workflows allow them to track projects and identify efficiency gains.
• Improved Consistency: Centralized translation assets and terminology management ensure a cohesive brand experience across all languages.
• Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Customers now enjoy tailored content addressing their specific needs, boosting the overall user experience.

Crown remains committed to improving its localization processes. They are continually exploring ways to further enhance automation, aiming to strike the perfect balance between technological efficiency and a thoughtful, human-centered approach to translation.

Crown’s localization journey highlights the transformative power of adopting a TMS that supports automating the translation management process, demonstrating how manufacturers can achieve cost savings, improved consistency, and enhanced customer experiences.

Let’s find out about specific TMS features that drive efficiency for manufacturing companies, ensuring maximum benefit from your investment.

A translation memory is a database that stores previously translated sentences or segments.

Think of it as your company’s multilingual knowledge repository. As you translate more content, the TM grows, saving time and cost on recurring content set for translation. Each time a translator encounters a segment that matches a previous entry in the TM, either exactly or with some minor differences, the system provides the stored translation so the translation time is non-existent or minimal.

This ensures consistency, reduces the cost of repeated translations, and ultimately speeds up the time to market.

Machine translation automatically translates content from one language to another.

While MT can sometimes replace human translation for complex or nuanced content, it offers even more value when used strategically. MT is particularly useful high volumes of content like technical documentation or internal materials, where accuracy is important but stylistic perfection isn’t essential.

When MT produces a draft, qualified human translators can then edit and refine it, significantly reducing overall turnaround time compared to what it would have been to translate the content from scratch.

TMS solutions can incorporate automated quality assurance (QA) features to streamline quality control. This helps manufacturing companies catch potential issues before publication. Automated QA checks can focus on:

• Consistency: Ensuring that technical terms, product names, and key phrases are translated consistently throughout all materials.
• Terminology Verification: Checking for compliance with your approved terminology database, guaranteeing accurate use of specialized terms.
• Style Guide Enforcement: Implementing company-specific style guides to maintain a consistent tone and brand voice.

TMS platforms foster effective teamwork between translators, editors, reviewers, and subject matter experts. These integrated communication and review features facilitate seamless communication within a single system. Translators can ask questions, SMEs can provide technical clarifications, and reviewers can give feedback.

This avoids fragmented communication through emails or spreadsheets and keeps everything transparently organized and attached to the relevant translation project.

TMS solutions offer detailed analytics and reporting capabilities. Tracking key metrics like word count, translation costs, turnaround times, and quality scores allows you to measure and optimize your translation processes. These insights help identify potential bottlenecks, assess the effectiveness of your TMS solution, and make data-driven decisions to improve overall efficiency.

The previous examples explored the TMS features that create efficiency in general terms. Let’s review a specific case study, demonstrating how one company strategically incorporated machine translation to maximize results.

Ariel Corporation is a global leader in manufacturing natural gas compressors. With a commitment to global expansion, they sought to increase their translation output while minimizing costs. Ariel chose XTM Cloud as their TMS and partnered with SYSTRAN to integrate machine translation (MT) into their workflow.

Ariel’s initial MT integration focused on translating secondary-level website content. But their innovation didn’t stop there.

Seeking further optimization, they took advantage of an impressive feature in XTM Cloud – neural fuzzy adaptation (NFA). NFA uses artificial intelligence to analyze previous translations, improve MT quality, and significantly reduce the need for human post-editing.

The results speak for themselves:

• MT Quality Improvement: Ariel experienced a 100% improvement in their machine translation quality.
• Translation Output Boost: MT usage increased, contributing to a massive overall increase in translation output.
• Reduced Human Effort: With higher quality MT, post-editing efforts decreased, freeing valuable translator time.

Ariel’s story illustrates the strategic value of a TMS that keeps pace with technological advancements. By integrating cutting-edge MT functionality, Ariel was able to push the boundaries of translation efficiency even further.

Manufacturers work with a wide array of sensitive information, from technical drawings and specifications to intellectual property and customer data. Ensuring the security of these assets is paramount.

With stringent industry regulations in place, TMS solutions must prioritize secure systems and practices in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape.

Look for these features in a TMS to safeguard your manufacturing information:

• Encryption Protocols: Secure encryption protocols, both in transit (during transfer) and at rest (when stored), should be standard to protect sensitive content from unauthorized access.
• Access Controls: Granular access controls allow you to restrict who can view, edit, and manage specific documents, projects, and data within the system. This is vital to maintain data segregation when necessary.

In addition to data security, manufacturers may need their TMS solution to comply with specific industry regulations.

Examples include:

• ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations): This set of regulations governs the export and import of defense-related articles and services. TMA solutions handling ITAR-controlled technical data need robust security measures and access controls to maintain compliance.
• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): This EU regulation protects the personal data of European individuals. Manufacturers handling such data need a TMA solution that supports GDPR compliance.
• ISO Standards: Various ISO standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 27001) focus on quality management and information security. TMA providers with ISO certifications demonstrate their ongoing commitment to secure practices.

When selecting a TMS solution, it’s vital to prioritize providers that demonstrate an understanding of the security and compliance needs specific to the manufacturing industry. Look for robust security features, industry certifications, and a track record of supporting manufacturers with similar requirements.

The role of translation management automation in manufacturing is poised for exciting growth and integration. Let’s look at some emerging trends shaping how TMS solutions will evolve to better enable manufacturing organizations to automate their localization process:

• Artificial Intelligence: AI is set to play an increasing role in TMS, powering more sophisticated machine translation engines, automating quality checks with greater accuracy, and improving translation suggestions from your TM. Manufacturers can expect greater accuracy, faster translation turnaround, and streamlined workflows with the help of AI.
• Cognitive Computing: As a subset of AI, cognitive computing systems understand and process information more closely resembling human thought. For a TMS, this means an increased ability to grasp technical nuances and handle complex terminology, driving better results throughout the translation process.
• Continuous Improvement and Innovation: TMS providers will continue to evolve the tool at a rapid pace, incorporating the latest technology that further streamlines localization processes. Solutions will prioritize added speed, improved user experiences, refined integration with other manufacturing systems, and greater emphasis on data security.

By staying ahead of the curve by deploying a TMS and its automation of the translation management process, manufacturing companies can:

• Accelerate Global Growth: Seamless and accurate translation of technical documentation, marketing materials, and training resources empowers companies to tap into new markets quickly and confidently.
• Increase Operational Efficiency: TMS empowers teams to collaborate effectively across the globe, reducing delays and errors in project execution through real-time communication and progress tracking.
• Optimize Production and Supply Chain: Accurate translations of technical documents, safety procedures, and supplier documentation help minimize misunderstandings and ensure consistent quality throughout the manufacturing and distribution process.
• Drive Customer Satisfaction: Delivering excellent customer experiences in multiple languages builds global brand loyalty and increases sales.

XTM Cloud provides secure and efficient project management tools, customizable workflows that align with complex manufacturing processes, seamless integration with existing systems, and a focus on accurate, consistent translation of technical terminology.

With XTM Cloud, manufacturers can streamline multilingual communication, boost productivity, and achieve long-term success internationally.

Sign up today for a demo and discover all that XTM Cloud can do for your business.