Our Story

My name is Carmen, vendor management consultant and trainer located in the United Kingdom.

I started working in the translation industry in 2013 after finishing my Translation and Interpreting degree at Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Spain. Although I started as a project coordinator, I had my heart set on vendor management from the very beginning.

After working at Xerox for three years in both the UK and Hungary, I progressed to a Resources Coordinator role at Webcertain Translates (UK), where I learned all the basics about vendor management.

During the next two years, I looked at ways I could improve my knowledge of the language services industry and specifically, vendor management. I attended industry events, kept up to date with industry news, and read books on negotiation and supplier management.

After I started working at ALM Translations (UK), I realised I was not the only one feeling like there was a void in the language services industry’s knowledge of vendor management.

A lot of the time small companies cannot afford to hire a vendor management team full time but, on the other hand, large companies deal with so many suppliers at once that the vendor management team is often buried under waves of administrative work.

In order to bring this issue to the attention of my peers and share my passion for vendor management, I decided to create a blog called Resourceful L10N as well as a LinkedIn group called Translation Vendor Management. As both were so well received, I decided to join Women in Localization as a mentor, to be able to share my knowledge with newcomers in the language services industry and specifically, vendor management.

In early 2021, I decided to take things into my own hands and thus created Resourceful L10N, a company focused on helping companies and individuals working in the language services industry improve their vendor management knowledge and achieve their vendor management objectives.

Resourceful L10N offers consultancy services on how to improve your company’s vendor management processes, training courses and 1:1 support.

Thank you!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

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What everyone is talking about

What are the key skills needed for vendor management?

While browsing the Internet, I came across a list of attributes that a successful Vendor Manager should have, and I found it very interesting. Some of these skills are also important for other roles, but I find them especially important for any role within the translation vendor management field. 👋Excellent communication skills👋 Vendor Managers need to communicate with different parties: teammates, colleagues, suppliers and clients. Being the administrator of the database gives the Vendor Manager a lot of knowledge about the company’s suppliers (or what is missing), so they are the best people to answer their colleagues' questions. For example, when the sales team wants to check the number of resources the company has for certain language combinations, or when project managers can't find a suitable supplier for their job. 😀Ability to develop and maintain strong and successful working relationships😀 This is one of the main duties of the Vendor Manager. Recruiting suppliers

Negotiation tips for Freelance Translators

In the translation industry, negotiation is sometimes a daily practice; vendor managers negotiate with potential suppliers, project managers negotiate with freelance translators and clients negotiate with LSPs to get the best deal possible. I used to be the kind of person who shied away from negotiating at all costs. I felt uncomfortable and overpowered when trying to negotiate. That is why, in 2017, I attended a short negotiation course, and I realised that everyone in the room that day had the same problem as me. This course taught me some basic principles, so that I was able to build my negotiation skills at my own pace. The truth is that the more you negotiate, the better you get at it. In my opinion, preparing for a negotiation is key in order to get the best outcome. What could you do to prepare for a negotiation? Learn as much as you can about the person/company you are going to talk to. Think about the relationship you have with the other party. How mu

Seven things Vendor Managers look for in a Freelance Translator

I would like to share with you the seven main attributes a Vendor Manager wants to see when working with freelance translators, as well as the language combination and subject area. (No, "cheap rates" is not one of them!) Good time management: All clients expect their vendor to meet all project deadlines. If this is not possible, I would advise the translator to reject the task, and wait for the next offer. Missing a deadline will discourage the LSP from sending the translator additional work, but rejecting an offer won't affect their chances of getting project offers in the future. Time management and multitasking are skills that can be easily learned and adapted to your way of working. Understanding the LSP's process and hierarchy: Addressing the wrong person and replying to the wrong email thread when contacting an LSP could mean your message never reaches the intended receiver or is not understood correctly. Make sure you know who is who to ensure the quickest re

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