About the company
Abbott is a leader in innovative medical devices and healthcare solutions, committed to improving health for people worldwide. Within Abbott, the International Labeling System (ILS) team plays a critical role in ensuring that product labels and instructions are accurately translated into 32 languages. This is essential for meeting regulatory standards and safeguarding patient safety across diverse global markets.
The ILS team’s mission is to deliver high-quality, timely, and consistent translations—a necessity in life sciences, where accuracy and efficiency are paramount to patient outcomes and regulatory compliance.
The Challenge
Before implementing XTM Cloud, Abbott’s ILS team managed translations with a standalone CAT tool, where each translator maintained their own projects independently. This decentralized system created several operational challenges:
Troublesome Translation Memory Management: Translators kept separate translation memories as individual files, often leading to inefficiencies, potential inconsistencies, and increased rework across projects. The risk of outdated translations was a significant concern in Abbott’s tightly regulated industry, where even minor inconsistencies could impact compliance.
Complex Vendor Coordination: Without a centralized platform, sending and receiving files with vendors required manual coordination, often causing project delays. Managing these manual handoffs also increased the administrative burden on Abbott’s internal team.
Extended Turnaround Times: Manual imports and exports between Abbott’s DITA CCMS and translation tools added extensive manual oversight to each project, lengthening timelines and raising the risk of errors.
Lack of In-Context Review: The previous system did not allow translators to view translations in their final context, resulting in higher error rates during the proofreading stage. Without the ability to verify context, translation accuracy and efficiency were often compromised.
Abbott’s ILS team recognized that its localization process required streamlining and scalability to better support its growing regulatory needs and ensure consistency. Integration with Ixia DITA CCMS became a primary requirement, leading them to XTM Cloud, which offered this capability and aligned with their long-term goals of quality, control, and efficiency.
The Solution
Abbott’s ILS team selected XTM Cloud as their translation management solution. The platform addressed key challenges by offering a range of features designed to enhance consistency, control, and scalability across their translation workflows.
Centralized Translation Memory and Terminology Management: With XTM Cloud, Abbott now has a single, centralized translation memory that enables real-time consistency across language teams globally. This shift reduces potential for inconsistencies and ensures that regulatory terms are translated uniformly, supporting Abbott’s commitment to high standards and compliance.
In-Context Visual Review: The team can now preview translations in DITA XML and other file types, which significantly reduces proofreading time and minimizes errors. This feature directly supports Abbott’s regulatory compliance by allowing accurate and contextually appropriate translations from the outset.
Automated Workflows and Integration Potential: XTM Cloud’s planned integration with Abbott’s DITA CCMS enables automated file handling, eliminating previously manual processes and accelerating project turnaround times. This automation will empower the ILS team to meet growing demand while controlling resource costs, aligning with Abbott’s broader operational efficiency goals.
Streamlined Project Management: XTM Cloud’s workflow module allows project managers to oversee each stage of translation from start to finish. With dynamic visual tools, project managers can more efficiently manage content corrections and vendor assignments, further reducing project delays and administrative load.
Following their XTM Cloud adoption in Q3 2024, Abbott was able to process and outsource more translation projects that surged in Q4.
The Outcome
Though early in implementation, Abbott’s ILS team has already observed several improvements with XTM Cloud, positioning them well to handle future growth:
Enhanced Consistency Across Languages: The centralized translation memory minimizes discrepancies, creating a unified approach across Abbott’s 32 language markets. This consistency is especially critical in life sciences, where accurate labeling is integral to patient safety and regulatory adherence.
Increased Efficiency and Reduced Vendor Delays: By automating project handoffs, Abbott has significantly reduced time delays and the administrative workload tied to vendor coordination. This streamlined approach enables the ILS team to focus on high-value tasks and reduces the risk of bottlenecks.
Greater Control and Transparency in Project Metrics: With improved tracking and dynamic previews, Abbott’s ILS team is better positioned to meet the company’s strict quality and compliance standards. The team is also exploring XTM Cloud’s BI Dashboard for enhanced project visibility and KPI tracking, which is expected to offer further insights into performance and resource allocation.
Thanks to the resulting streamlined process, one project manager can now handle projects for all languages without involving respective language teams.
Future Outlook
As Abbott progresses with its XTM Cloud and DITA CCMS integration via XTM Bridge, the ILS team expects to further accelerate workflows, supporting Abbott’s expanding regulatory obligations without additional headcount. This integration aligns with Abbott’s long-term goals of operational scalability and cost control while maintaining rigorous quality and safety standards.
