
The single supplier vs. multiple supplier decision
When you have a large language project, there are two clear options. Choosing a single supplier who can handle everything, and choosing multiple specialist suppliers. And when a project is large and expensive, cutting costs is often kept in mind. Many businesses shy away from partnering up with a full-service language services agency, in the fear that it will be an expensive solution. Of course it's possible to find a person who can do the translation, another person who can proofread it, and a voiceover agency, so why wouldn't you do that and save budget? Here are three important points to consider, based on our experience over the last few years managing full-service language projects. We hope they will help you consider your choices and get the most out of your project.1. Continuity drives consistency

Working with multiple suppliers means hiring people with different backgrounds and ways of doing things. From translation and proofreading, to formatting, your approach might end up looking fragmented.
It's important for each element of your language project to align closely with the previous stage and stay consistent. For example, if the translator was briefed to keep the tone light, and then the voiceover was carried out in a corporate way, the whole project would look disjointed on completion. Sometimes potential clients who go with various suppliers come back to us, asking to restart the project from scratch - meaning they end up paying twice.
Building a long-term relationship with an agency will improve the on-going work in the long run. One area we add
value to projects across different disciplines is our internal translation technology. This helps our clients maintain consistency across content, terminology and phrasing, no matter what medium they use to communicate.
Continuity is a big part of the process. Whether you're using one agency or multiple agencies, make sure you invest plenty of time to manage the communications. Every time an agency and client work together, they both learn and the relationship is improved. Which ultimately leads to our next point.
2. Save time and cut the costs
We've all been there. Sat at a compute
3. Lower the risk
Mistakes happen, and you need a safe pair of hands on board.
- Transcription of the original video
- Translation of the transcript
- Proofing and review with some editing of text
- Recording of a voiceover
- Time coding and editing
One last thing to consider
Many translation agencies and LSPs (language service providers) pride themselves on being “all-in-one”, but in reality they only have experience in some areas. Agencies typically specialise in translation, proofreading, localisation and/or transcription. However, a truly “all-in-one” agency will not only cover the mentioned above services, but also offer DTP, transcreation, subtitling, interpreting and voiceover services. Choosing the right agency for the job might be daunting, but using one partner will help your company maintain consistency across all projects, save time, cut the costs, and lower risk.For more information about Wolfestone services:
Document translation services, Localisation services, Transcreation services, Multilingual SEO services, Proofreading, Voiceover services, Interpreting services, Multimedia services, Legal translation services, Other types of translation
The professional translation services you can trust!