As global brands continue their quest for expanding into new markets and geographies, the localization industry is faced with the challenge of adapting its supply chains to support the language operations needs of their customers. With the rapid acceleration of digitization and the entry into new territories, the demand for diverse expertise and knowledge to adapt products and services that cater to local buyers has increased.
To sustain growth, larger Language Service Providers (LSPs) are often forced to hire local localization providers to meet their customers’ specific skill sets, language requirements, and other business needs. As a result, most localization projects today are farmed out to external teams, leading to the decentralization of operations, miscommunication between production teams, and financial inefficiencies due to margin stacking at different levels of the supply chain. In reality, very few LSPs possess the distributed teams and staff required to support expansive global language operations due to high overhead costs and pricing pressure from customers.
This trend contributes to the development of global and super agencies, but it creates a disadvantage for smaller regional or local LSPs, who become “back-office” support for larger players. However, recent technological advancements have made it possible to eliminate communication barriers between economic actors in most industries. The “global village” allows buyers to interact directly with suppliers, regardless of their location. Project management and communication platforms provide all stakeholders of this global trade ecosystem with access to abundant data, leading to daily production and informed decision-making. Decentralizing your localization supply chain is, therefore, a viable option to consider, as it contributes to building a stronger global brand and increasing overall content ROI.
However, decentralization requires careful planning and consideration. Smaller local players typically lack the resources available to their larger competitors, and they are more vulnerable to disruption caused by economic, social, and financial factors. It is therefore crucial to seek the support of the right partner to guide your selection.
At Loquell, we are a data and content consultancy company with over 75 years of combined experience in content methodology optimization, technology and data-powered customer engagement, data management, and artificial intelligence. We deliver integrated, technology-driven content and data strategies that drive measurable business results and support world-class customer engagement through digital content.
From best practices to proven methodologies and implementation of technology infrastructure aligned with your corporate goals, our cross-functional team of dedicated solution architects and experienced consultants can provide you with the expertise you need to optimize your localization efforts. Whatever your localization needs are, our team will deliver the solutions you require to fuel your global expansion.