Case: Clothing

The challenge?

A major player in the clothing industry asked Home Office to translate its Global Code of Conduct, which is a vital document on the global level, in almost 30 languages. A project that we are used to taking and which did not pose any problems, given its limited scope of eight pages, except that this document had to be translated in 30 very different languages. This included common, Western European languages such as French and English as well as a large number of Eastern European and exotic languages, such as Hindu, Bengali, Urdu, Burmese and Vietnamese. The translation also had to be delivered within ten days, making this is an extremely complex assignment.

How did Home Office solve this?

Given the large number of very diverse languages and the tight deadline, a large part of the assignment consisted of establishing a clear planning schedule, agreeing on a seamless coordination system and ensuring that everything was duly followed up and delivered on time. Home Office does not have in-house translators who have experience with these exotic languages. Fortunately, however, we can rely on a large network of partners. We decided to call on a number of international translation partners, with whom we have already worked successfully for several years and who have the required expertise. It enabled us to guarantee the quality of the translations and the requested deadline. The points for attention for two of the 30 languages were also implemented with our translation partners, within the requested deadline, much to our customer’s satisfaction.

The outcome?

The translation of the Global Code of Conduct in all 30 languages was delivered within the required time frame thanks to clear agreements, clever project management and experience, working with the right partners. Our extremely satisfied customer called us back a few weeks later to have the document translated into a dozen additional languages.