Common Sense Advisory

How buyers buy and sellers sell language services for global-ready websites and products seems broken to us. Buyers ache for cheap translation at low prices with no long-term commitment, while sellers chafe at bidding processes that chip away at already slim margins.

Buyers and sellers face off across the negotiating table for each project, hammering out tactical agreements and never understanding why the other side behaves as it does. Rather than just speculate on the root causes of this impasse, we quizzed practitioners on their supplier relationships - along with a wide variety of issues related to their careers, staffing, process, and practices. Subscribe to our research and find out:

Why this report is a must-have for buyers:
Rather than merely let the suppliers tell you what services they offer (as too many reports about the translation industry do), we asked practitioners how they work with suppliers. Their responses will help buyers benchmark their practices against those of the industry. They told us about their buying preferences, their major purchasing motivations, and how they feel about dealing with their suppliers. From our interviews and consultations with many buyers – and extensive discussions with suppliers – we advise buyers on the best practices of finding, negotiating with, managing, and firing providers.

Sellers of services will learn about buyer concerns:
While this report was written from the point of view of companies buying language services, providers of those services will be able to put themselves on the other side of the advice – and hopefully improve their interactions with prospects and clients.

• How do buyers purchase translation services?
• How should buyers find a language service provider and what should they look for?
• What are the best practices for managing the relationship with your supplier?

• Translation Buyers and Sellers Behaving Badly
• Globalizing Companies Outsource Most Translation Work
  • First the Bad News: Spending Trends Down
  • Few Companies Translate In-House
  • Suppliers Earn Good Grades from Buyers
  • Would It Be a Surprise to Hear That Price Dominates the Decision Matrix?
  • Most Companies Buy Translation Services by the Drink
  • Conclusions from Our Surveys with Translation and Localization Managers
• Who’s Who in Language Services
• Managing the Vendor Life Cycle
  • Phase 1: Finding Good Candidates for Language Services
  • Phase 2: Conducting a Translation Agency Review
  • Phase 3: Negotiating the Best, But Fairest, Deal
  • Phase 4: Setting Expectations with Vendors
  • Phase 5: Managing Language Service Suppliers
  • When the Relationship Sours: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
• Where Language Services Are Going and How Buyers Should React

How buyers buy and sellers sell language services for global-ready websites and products seems broken to us. Buyers ache for cheap translation at low prices with no long-term commitment, while sellers chafe at bidding processes that chip away at already slim margins.

Buyers and sellers face off across the negotiating table for each project, hammering out tactical agreements and never understanding why the other side behaves as it does. Rather than just speculate on the root causes of this impasse, we quizzed practitioners on their supplier relationships - along with a wide variety of issues related to their careers, staffing, process, and practices. Subscribe to our research and find out:

Why this report is a must-have for buyers:
Rather than merely let the suppliers tell you what services they offer (as too many reports about the translation industry do), we asked practitioners how they work with suppliers. Their responses will help buyers benchmark their practices against those of the industry. They told us about their buying preferences, their major purchasing motivations, and how they feel about dealing with their suppliers. From our interviews and consultations with many buyers – and extensive discussions with suppliers – we advise buyers on the best practices of finding, negotiating with, managing, and firing providers.

Sellers of services will learn about buyer concerns:
While this report was written from the point of view of companies buying language services, providers of those services will be able to put themselves on the other side of the advice – and hopefully improve their interactions with prospects and clients.

• How do buyers purchase translation services?
• How should buyers find a language service provider and what should they look for?
• What are the best practices for managing the relationship with your supplier?

• Translation Buyers and Sellers Behaving Badly
• Globalizing Companies Outsource Most Translation Work
  • First the Bad News: Spending Trends Down
  • Few Companies Translate In-House
  • Suppliers Earn Good Grades from Buyers
  • Would It Be a Surprise to Hear That Price Dominates the Decision Matrix?
  • Most Companies Buy Translation Services by the Drink
  • Conclusions from Our Surveys with Translation and Localization Managers
• Who’s Who in Language Services
• Managing the Vendor Life Cycle
  • Phase 1: Finding Good Candidates for Language Services
  • Phase 2: Conducting a Translation Agency Review
  • Phase 3: Negotiating the Best, But Fairest, Deal
  • Phase 4: Setting Expectations with Vendors
  • Phase 5: Managing Language Service Suppliers
  • When the Relationship Sours: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
• Where Language Services Are Going and How Buyers Should React