Translation Back Office is a company that has experience in internationalization on the basis of the participation in tenders and trade missions. This local company sells translations to more than 25 countries and it is one of the most reliable international companies within this field. It is also part of the Directory of Exportable Offer of the Province of Córdoba, Córdoba Exporters, promoted by ProCórdoba Agency.
Below, Charles Campbell - CEO Translation Back Office explains the process of commercialization in order to be part of the world's leading companies in this field.
-How did Translation Back Office emerge?
-It is a company that was established in 2005 in Córdoba. From its foundation to 2009 it has experienced an accelerated growth. In 2009 we gave a new meaning to the diversification strategies of our work.
In my case, I come from New Zealand but the requirements of telecommunications and human talents were here. With this context, setting up my company here was something very natural. We started as a company that exported Spanish translations to the world. From the beginning, the company looked for a global profile by selling this product. Now we focus on bilingual productions for any type of industry.
-How many employees does the company have?
-There are 53 employees in Córdoba. We also have an associated company in Lima, Peru. Besides, there are external collaborators in Argentina and abroad.
-Which is the company's business strategy?
-Translation Back Office is always oriented to the world. We have been receiving clients from Córdoba and Argentina but we focus on the entire world. The company's business strategy is based on the combination of factors such as tenders, trade fairs, and business rounds abroad. This is also sustained by the web that works as a support for tenders and trade fairs.
Moreover, there is an extra component that is the word of mouth. We offer a range of services with a level of availability of customer service that other companies would not be able to do. We meet the clients' needs 12 hours a day.
What it more, we have low staff turnover and the company is made up of different professionals.
The company's business strategy and its international profile allowed us to enter the ranking of the most reliable international companies in this field (according to Common Sense Advisory).
-With respect to tenders, how did you start working in this field?
-From 2009 we have been seeking to diversify our services and have more stable revenues in the context of steady increase of the dollar in Argentina. For us the periods of high inflation were very tough because we could not pass price increases on to our clients, so we focus on a long-term business plan. In this context, we analyzed the participation in tenders.
-What kind of clients did you gain since this method of selling?
We work with different agencies of the World Bank and United Nations Organization. The decision of participating in UN tenders was supported by the strategic decision of identifying UN as a target market. This produced results but it required persistence and continuous alignment efforts.
-Why do you think it is important to participate in tenders?
-Tenders are an effective mechanism to enter the world and, above all, to get a stable volume of businesses instead of making only one sale. I think that all the exporters deal with the fact that sometimes one sells a project and later no more projects are sold. Instead, an annual and multi-annual tender helps a company to have foreseeable future revenues, to project and make decisions about investment and growth. The company that wins a tender has three or five years of sustained sales. This poses some challenges.
-Which are the most challenging aspects of tendering?
-We have to be persistent and meticulous in tenders. I think that the most important thing is to see that the entire world is your market. In our field, like in many, Córdoba and even the country have become a small market.
We decided to position ourselves as market experts. The challenges we deal with are very different from the challenges of other translation companies. The main challenge is to learn how to deal with a big project. In Translation Back Office we have the ability to manage any big project and that is what makes us different.
As a positive aspect, what I really like about winning a tender is to take forward a professional relationship and, when the time comes to renew, to win again.
Argentina is far from the world, we have higher costs to move to important translation centres. For this reason, we decided to participate in trade missions abroad in order to show our offer. Another challenge is to have a price that can fight local inflation and then to be able to keep such amount.
Anyway, in this company we are talking to people from more than 25 countries. This helps us when we participate in tenders.
-What is your opinion about the support of ProCórdoba in the process of disseminating and participating in international tenders?
-There is a lot of support on the part of the Agency. I always receive all the information that is disseminated via mail, newsletters, in the media. What is more, the professional accompaniment and the economic support are a good complement for the trips to trade missions, fairs, etc.
For further information about the Service of Assistance and Training in International Tenders please click here
Sofía Garzón
Cooperation and International Relations
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 4343065/66/67/68 Int.: 401
