CASE STUDY - Ultradent
BACKGROUND OF CLIENT:
Established in 1979 by a new dentist driven to revolutionize the industry with the advancement and improvement of tools and products, Ultradent has grown to be an internationally respected organization and produces and sells over 500 materials, devices and instruments to support the dental industry.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Product instruction inserts inside the packages for Dentists and Patients. The products consist of the materials, devices and instruments. We have also supported their legal department with contract translations.
LANGUAGES:
19 Languages, many of which are for the European Union to satisfy the CE Requirements for Import and sale. Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish.
TIMELINE:
Most large projects are due within one to two weeks; smaller projects are due within 2-4 days.
CHALLENGES:
As Ultradent stepped out into the international arena, it relied on foreign distributors exclusively to provide the multilingual documentation required for import. Although the distributors knew the industry well and were immediately cost effective, several challenges began to surface.
The first issue was with timing. When using distributors, it would take up to 44 weeks per instruction booklet to be translated and go through the quality control and revision process before final approval. Unfortunately, this time lapse caused their entire process to slow down or even cease because of the import/export and CE Marking language requirements. While Ultradent had many materials, devices and instruments to introduce to the European market, they were bound by the timing of their distributors.
The second issue was with the budget. When using distributors, the cost of translation was generally less than outsourcing, however, there was not a consistent price schedule. This made budgeting and planning quite difficult.
The third issue was with distributor management. Although Ultradent has a great relationship with their distributors for sales, managing each distributor on a separate basis for the translation process began to be a logistical nightmare. Because each distributor was working on a separate time schedule, with a separate budget and different requirements, Ultradent was spending precious management time trying to maintain control and consistency in these areas.
The fourth issue was with product quality. Because Ultradent’s distributors are in their field selling the products on a daily basis, they know what their consumers want in terms of language and instruction. However, they are often too busy to complete the translations according to appropriate time, budget and quality standards. Additionally, because each distributor was in charge of his or her translations, there was no certificate of translation accuracy available.
SOLUTIONS:
When Ultradent reached out to U.S. Translation Company with the issues and challenges they faced, UST answered back with a plan of action to speed up their processes, manage their budget, reduce their management time and ensure product quality and consistency.
The first issue with timing was resolved with U.S. Translation Company setting up a guaranteed timeline for projects based on word count. Their process used to take up to 44 weeks, now it has been trimmed down to two weeks or less for most large projects and within days for smaller projects. This quick turn around has enabled them to put out more products on the international market more efficiently, in turn providing them a more rapid return on investment with the product development.
The second issue with budget has been resolved with U.S. Translation Company setting up a standard contract with fixed pricing for each language on a per word basis. Although outsourcing has been an increase in expense initially; the peace of mind of knowing that the translations are done professionally and correctly is worth the cost! They’ve also found that their costs are actually more stable because they now have a fixed rate schedule for every language and they are able to manage their budgets more effectively. Additionally, the increase in initial cost has been made up in the increased revenues with longer times on market due to a more rapid introduction to the markets.
The third issue with distributor management has been resolved by outsourcing all translations to U.S. Translation Company. Having all languages in process at once has been extremely beneficial to Ultradent’s staff. Whereas in the past, Ultradent might have four languages back, while waiting on 15 others, they can now guarantee all languages back on-time or early. This has decreased the need for so much coordination and management as they can rely on the professional services of UST.
The fourth issue with product quality has been resolved by using qualified experts at U.S. Translation Company. Because all of USTC’s linguists are highly qualified and educated, Ultradent can rest easy that their documents are being translated with the greatest of accuracy. Additionally, to satisfy the CE requirements, USTC provides Certificates of Accuracy in translation for all 18 languages on all files with the final submission.
HIGHLIGHTS/BENEFITS:
Working with such an internationally respected and successful organization such as Ultradent has been extremely rewarding for U.S. Translation Company. We have formed a long-term bond with the employees at their organization and treat each and every project as an opportunity to help Ultradent grow and expand according to their goals. We are also excited to announce that on May 23, 2007, Ultradent was presented with the Global Pacesetter Award given by Zions Bank at the 6th Annual International Trade and Business Conference for their commendable effort in multinational trade. We are happy to have been involved in a small way with their achieving international success.
