The preparation of an international bid is a complex and costly process and the quality of the translation is often vital to its success. To ensure that the quality of the translation is equivalent to the quality of the original, the translation of an international bid must be managed as a multipart translation
For a US company, it must begin with the translation into English of the RFP. Many companies have been disqualified from the bid process by cutting corners and having a bilingual employee translate the RFP, only to find out later that the person did not understand the RFP as well as he may have thought.
Just as an international bid is normally prepared by three distinct departments in a company (legal, financial, and technical), so must its translation be done by legal, financial, and technical (or medical, if applicable) translators.
It is also essential to have the right type of specialized translators and a translation manager who can generate and maintain glossaries; select, coordinate, and supervise the translators; and generally ensure that the project stays on schedule and conforms to all the requirements. |