Insider Tips to Consider Before Launching a Translation RFP

What is a Translation RFP All About?

An RFP is a public or invite-only project announcement with which you describe a project, seeking for bids from vendors to address their specified needs. It allows you to compare the offerings of preselected vendors, asking them to demonstrate which solutions they’d propose before you evaluate each offering to identify the best candidate for the role.

Done right and organized well, the RFP procedure is crucial for any larger expense or commitment of your organization. Not only is it critical to maximize your return on investment, but can be a key step to power your organization to growth.

Do You Really Need a Translation or Language Services RFP?

There are quite a few scenarios where an RFP is likely to be the right approach. You might be hoping to expand to new markets, or want to switch language service providers if you’re not happy with quality. Here are some of the most common reasons:

Power growth - Reach new markets with new languages and tailored content or new product launches.

Seek Innovation - Make the most of the latest AI technology and tools like machine translation.

Risk Management - Avoid becoming too reliant on a single partnership and diversify your suppliers.

Partner Difficulties - If you’re not happy with your existing partnerships and want to improve processes, efficiency, or quality.
 

Why an RFI Might Be Invaluable for Your RFP

Because RFPs for language and content services can be quite complex, it can be a good idea to collect information about potential suppliers first. This is where the Request for Information (RFI) comes in. The purpose is to collect information about the capabilities of potential suppliers, helping you to identify those who are most likely to be able to meet your needs.

An RFI will help:

• Your RFP to be much more purposeful and concise.
• You filter out irrelevant replies to your RFP.
• Your RFP replies to be more informative and comparable.
• Ensure ideal vendors are more likely to respond.
• To make a shortlist of vendors.

The aim is to gather information and prequalify potential suppliers for the next round. The right RFI provides a general overview of supplier profiles, helping you get familiar with the market and select the right vendors to target with the upcoming RFP.

What to Look for in Your Future Partner

After the evaluation of the RFI replies, you should be able to define quite accurately what kind of partner you go for.

Questions you should be ready to answer by now:

• Is the vendor's physical location of interest to you?
• What are your minimum requirements in terms of success records and proven experience?
• Does the volume or foreseeable extension call for multiple service providers, handling several languages at once?
• What technologies are essential for your partnership? Think about machine translation, AI content optimization or translation memory.
• Do you need a provider that can bring additional services, such as interpreting, transcription, or learning content creation?