Reckitt
boosting productivity through centralisation

The Client
Reckitt is a multinational consumer goods company and producer of health, hygiene and home products. Formed in 1999 by the merger of UK-based Reckitt & Colman plc and Netherlands-based Benckiser NV, Reckitt’s products are today sold in nearly 200 countries worldwide. Their industry-leading brands include antiseptic brand Dettol, sore throat remedy Strepsils, hair removal brand Veet, and air freshener brand Air Wick, as well as other well-known names like Calgon, Clearasil, Durex, Nurofen, Finish and Vanish.
The challenge
New operating models at Reckitt meant that there was a greater need for the brands’ assets and documents to be translated from global and regional to local level.
Before these new models came into place, Reckitt had taken a de-centralised approach to translation, meaning that their various regional offices and departments, which required their own specific services and language combinations, were each choosing their own suppliers, resulting in the simultaneous use of multiple vendors.
In order to address these challenges, Reckitt sought to establish a long-term relationship with a single global supplier, so that Reckitt’s different departments and regional offices could benefit from the time and cost synergies of centralisation.
The Solution
As an existing preferred supplier for global pack copy translation, translate plus had an excellent prior understanding of Reckitt’s core brands and markets.
We initiated an ISO 9001-certified consolidation process, ensuring that Reckitt gained all the benefits of centralisation in the most efficient and streamlined way possible. This started with a localisation audit with different key stakeholders in purchasing and key markets, to ascertain the various contacts, departments and locations across the organisation that required translation – resulting in a 360° view of the brands’ numerous requirements and preferences.
A core part of the process was to integrate all of Reckitt’s existing translation memory databases from previous suppliers, to produce one centrally approved memory. An equivalent procedure was carried out for existing glossaries, which we segmented by content type and brand, including a thorough review for consistency and accuracy across Reckitt’s terminology.
In partnership with Reckitt, we also created a style guide to be referred to by all of our project managers, linguists and desktop publishing specialists, as well as by Reckitt’s reviewers. This style guide includes detailed and specific guidance on Reckitt’s corporate identity, tone of voice, brand preferences and language rules.
In addition, every Reckitt user involved with the translation process has been set up on i plus®, our unique translation management system. Using role-based access levels, i plus gives Reckitt the power to securely oversee all aspects of the localisation process, including online review of translations via the review plus component.
Our close relationship hasn’t ended now that the service is up and running: as part of our standard service offering, we conduct regular review meetings with key Reckitt stakeholders, carry out customer satisfaction surveys and support our continuous-improvement methodology by responding promptly to feedback and changing requirements.
The benefits

Great cost and time savings through the use of review plus, the online review component of i plus. Each time a reviewer approves a document, Reckitt’s translation memory is immediately updated to incorporate any changes, meaning that resources will not be spent on implementing identical changes in future.

Global brand consistency, thanks to a centralised translation memory and glossary (both accessible via i plus).

Faster turnaround times as a result of our streamlined localisation process and our innovative process automation.

Improved productivity by project managers, linguists, reviewers and Reckitt’s managers all accessing the same centralised platform. This provides stakeholders access to real-time project status and management information, flexible reporting tools regarding cost per department and punctuality data.

An ongoing tailored service: even though memories and processes are centralised, we cater to the specific needs of Reckitt’s various brands and departments – for example, by providing project management resources in different time zones and locations.
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