Bug-proofing globalization

Volkswagen Group is using a global information solution to speed time-to-market and triple the languages it covers. With software from TRADOS, Volkswagen is said to have accelerated its globalization efforts and its delivery times for new vehicles, using the same fixed resources and budget.

As a large European auto manufacturer, Volkswagen Group's ability to work in the local environment for customer communications, product information and technical manuals determines how rapidly it can deliver car models to different markets. The new system is said to optimize the information life cycle—from document creation through translation to publication, including integration with EMC Documentum enterprise content management system.

According to a recent press release from TRADOS, the solution has enabled Volkswagen to enhance the consistency and quality of its customer communications, tailoring content to accurately reflect the local language nuances of its markets. Among the customer innovations, for example, Volkswagen now offers on-demand printing of personalized owner manuals to fit the specifications of individual vehicles sold, without additional costs.

"We strive to constantly raise the bar on customer service," says Jan Ruger at Volkswagen. "The TRADOS and Documentum teams are important partners in helping us build stronger relationships with our customers. Their solutions introduced best-practices and efficiencies to our globalization teams and processes—keeping costs in check while raising our productivity and the quality of the final communications products."

Prior to the new system, the Volkswagen team labored to localize information in eight languages, TRADOS says. Now the same team has expanded coverage to 29 languages, besides handling an additional 1.4 million pages of text, without raising costs.