Posts in category: Case Study

We’re kicking off our new A to Z of Translations with A for ‘Automotive’!

We’ve had our second busiest ever quarter after completing a 700,000-word project for one of Germany’s largest distributors of camping and caravanning equipment.

The holiday season is nearly upon us, and our client needed help translating their entire website from German into UK English to get caravan and motorhome enthusiasts back in the outdoor spirit! From cooking utensils and camping tents to bike racks and awnings, our team of experienced translators completed this extensive technical project in just six weeks.

After the project, our team came together to reflect on the challenges it had presented and how we had solved them to ensure that our client received high-quality, consistent and accurate translations just in time for the Easter holidays.

Challenge 1: Consistency

As this was such a large project with a tight deadline, it was assigned to five different team members. This meant that collaboration was key to maintaining consistency across the translations. After all, no two translators will have the exact same style of writing! The content involved a lot of specialist terminology and lengthy product names that incorporated key technical details. These had to be translated accurately but also had to read well in English.

Solution: We had regular discussions to ensure all the team were following the same approach. When it came to lengthy product names, for example, we decided to introduce commas to separate product details and aid readability. We also agreed on general guidelines with regards to other aspects, such as capitalisation. This led to us creating a style guide that can be used for future projects. We were also able to access other team members’ translations in the project TM (translation memory) as they were confirmed in real time, so we could regularly check that terms were being translated consistently.

Impact: Our in-depth team discussions allowed us to ensure that the client’s website was translated consistently. This ensures professionalism on the website and helps to create a trusted brand. Consistent translation of technical terminology also means that visitors to the website can easily navigate their way between similar products, in turn leading to more sales and more satisfied customers – a great user experience on our client’s website is also more likely to lead to customers returning!

Challenge 2: German-specific concepts

Despite the technical nature of this project, we still came across some more cultural concepts that posed a challenge when translating for an English-speaking audience. This could be anything from an e-scooter product description that described the relevant German road regulations to the different categories in the German version of the game Trivial Pursuit. And just to confuse things, the UK automotive brand Vauxhall is actually called Opel in Germany!

Solution: As a team of native UK English speakers, we were able to pick up on concepts that would cause confusion for a UK audience. We discussed our processes as a team and also checked with our client how they would like us to approach certain aspects, for example whether to localise Opel. We provided adaptations for an English-speaking audience where necessary; for example if a travel guide was written in German, we specified this in the product description to avoid any confusion.

Impact: Localising product names and descriptions where necessary, and if agreed with the client, meant that we could produce translations that wouldn’t make the target audience feel alienated by concepts that they are unfamiliar with. A UK-based visitor to the website would therefore be more likely to feel an affinity with the client’s brand and could feel sure that they had made an informed decision as to whether a product is right for them, leading to increased sales and greater customer satisfaction.

Challenge 3: Volume

The sheer volume of a project like this can present obstacles. With 700,000 words to translate for numerous products from a variety of brands including Truma and Dometic, it was inevitable that there would be some issues in the source text, especially when the texts had been extracted from the client’s website.

Solution: Attention to detail was crucial for this project. Our team managed to spot any incorrectly spelt brand names and inconsistencies in measurements and made sure that these were researched, queried if necessary and correctly translated. Splitting the project across a team of five experienced translators meant that we could go the extra mile and flag issues to our client where necessary.

Impact: Our client is a long-standing customer who trusts the quality of our work and was therefore more than happy to place the entire project within our own team rather than further splitting the project between other teams to meet the deadline. This meant that we could ensure that the website content was consistently and accurately translated and could also provide an additional service in drawing their attention to any typos or inconsistencies found on the website. This in turn helped improve on the original German text, boosting our client's reputation online for both their German and English-speaking customers.

Challenge 4: Acronyms and abbreviations

Acronyms and abbreviations are often used in technical texts to ensure that readers can quickly access the key information they need. The challenge in this project involved understanding whether acronyms and abbreviations were part of brand names and therefore needed to be kept the same in English or whether they needed translating and if so, what they meant. We also sometimes came across very short product descriptions with little context and no images to assist us with our understanding. Anyone who has worked with translators in the past will know that context is everything!

Solution: We carried out thorough research on our client’s website and in their catalogue and accessed other reliable sources in the caravan industry, including technical product manuals, to help us gain a better understanding of the products in question. When necessary, we queried abbreviations and acronyms that were unclear with our client. We also kept a structured, smooth query process within the team to avoid any duplicated questions.

Impact: Our in-depth research meant that we provided accurate translated content for retailers and customers to make informed decisions on their purchases. Accuracy is essential when translating technical content; an incorrect measurement for a caravan roof cover could lead to serious issues for our client. We made sure that any potential issues were avoided by being thorough in our research and clarifying abbreviations and acronyms with the client if they were unclear.

Summary

The busiest start to any year in the history of ecls translations gave us the opportunity to translate the content of an entire website from German into UK English. Our technical translators were able to demonstrate their outstanding attention to detail and deliver accurate, consistent and thoroughly researched translations.

The project was varied, covering everything that could possibly be needed for a camping trip or caravanning holiday. We enjoyed working together to discuss ideas and terminology and thanks to our in-depth research, our client can now present a professional, accurate English version of their website to customers and retailers to highlight their growth and increase sales by tapping into a whole new international market.

We’re looking forward to seeing what the rest of 2023 will bring but for now, we’re going to have a well-deserved Easter break!

If you’re going camping or taking your motorhome out on the road this Easter, we hope you have a brilliant time!

Location: California, USA

Sector: Advertising / e-commerce

Project: AdWords and keywords 

Language(s): French, German, English

Quote: “It’s very rare to find such an organised team, with 100% on-time delivery and a service score of 99.33/100 for German to English translations.” 

A major new client

In March 2022, ecls translations started working with a world-leading multinational technology company to offer their advertising customers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Canada high-quality, responsive translation services. This exciting partnership via our long-standing client in the language services industry has seen us onboard seven of our translators to handle the large volumes of work and fast turnaround times.

Our work involves translating and proofreading paid search ads and associated keywords for a wide range of products. The main language pairs are German and French to UK and US English. 

We complete all translation and proofreading tasks in our client’s computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool. Our client reviews every translation, sending us feedback using the CAT tool, which we then apply to future projects. The team had to get to grips with this new software quickly while providing high-quality translations. 

Challenges and solutions

Challenge 1: Client specifics

Our team had to complete extensive training and absorb lots of reference material in just a few days. Topics included using the translation software, character restriction rules and handling code elements. We also learned when and how to localise different text aspects and familiarised ourselves with multiple style guides, many containing client-specific instructions.

Solution/Impact: Following the initial training, we created a condensed crib sheet of the most important instructions and shared this with the team for quick and easy reference. We collate feedback from each project, making it accessible to team members to ensure consistency. 

Our translators and proofreaders continuously refer to the core reference materials, and we regularly speak as a team to resolve uncertainties. This approach has ensured that we offer our client an excellent service, as demonstrated by our latest service score: 99.33/100 (German to US English). This score was calculated by our client using their rigorous quality metric.

Challenge 2: Variety

A further challenge comes from the wide variety of subject areas and products our client covers, ranging from the highly technical to the creative. We recently translated adverts for wine and champagne, rubber wheels, and pest control services, to name just a few! 

Solution/Impact: Fortunately, we handpicked a team of highly skilled translators who flexibly apply their excellent research skills, broad subject knowledge and creativity to every area. As a result, we produce a tailored, accurate, fluent and effective translation, regardless of the product or service.

Challenge 3: Unpredictability

The workload is unpredictable but often very large, with over 100,000 words translated in the first few weeks of our partnership. Most translation and proofreading projects also require fast 48-hour turnaround times.

Solution/Impact: To ensure we can handle large volumes of translation at short notice, we onboarded seven translators specifically for our client. We also created a “Standard Operating Procedure” that streamlines our processes, meaning that multiple projects can be quickly assigned to team members.

Summary: High-quality translations bring maximum benefits

Thanks to the excellent service provided by ecls translations, our client can now offer their advertising customers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Canada high-quality, fast, human translations to increase site traffic and boost international sales.

Our service allows our client to flexibly adapt to their customers’ needs, growing or reducing in line with demand. Ultimately, they can enjoy an excellent reputation in new German and French-speaking markets and high customer satisfaction rates, leading to increased customer retention and global sales.

Client testimonial:

Working with Emma and ECLS Translations has been an outstanding experience. Their team's professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence have made a significant impact on our organization. Having had the opportunity to collaborate with various team members, I can confidently say that they are an exceptional partner.

Working with Emma has been an absolute pleasure. Her team members are not only highly skilled and knowledgeable in their respective languages but also possess a strong commitment to deliver a top-notch product. From the very beginning, they demonstrated a high level of professionalism, effective communication, and a genuine desire to understand and meet our specific needs. Their collaborative approach, coupled with their willingness to adapt and accommodate changes, made the entire working process smooth and efficient.

The impact of working with ECLS has been transformative for our organization. Their simple and straightforward workflow has significantly enhanced our operations, resulting in improved efficiency and productivity. Their attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality results have undoubtedly elevated our performance and allowed us to meet our KPIs consistently, even when others had failed.

Without a doubt, I would gladly work with Emma and her company again in the future. They have consistently exceeded our expectations, demonstrating a deep understanding of our goals and the complicated processes that they needed to follow. I look forward to future collaborations and wholeheartedly recommend them as a reliable and professional partner.