Pages in topic:   [1 2 3 4] >
Poll: What do you appreciate the most in working with companies with dedicated Vendor Management?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jan 18, 2021

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What do you appreciate the most in working with companies with dedicated Vendor Management?".

This poll was originally submitted by Diego_CW. View the poll results »



 
Anton Konashenok
Anton Konashenok  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 00:52
French to English
+ ...
Nothing Jan 18, 2021

Nothing whatsoever. In fact, companies with dedicated vendor management tend to be big and difficult to deal with because the flow of information stops at too many points.

Christopher Schröder
Dan Lucas
Miranda Drew
Erik Freitag
Ventnai
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Philippe Etienne
 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 00:52
English to German
In memoriam
The PMs are the relevant partners Jan 18, 2021

The term "dedicated vendor management" seems rather irrelevant to me. My contact people in agencies are project managers, they assign the projects and they are my go-to people for questions and feedback. With some agencies, I work only with one PM, in other cases I work with half a dozen PMs, but in any case, the existence of a reliable and trustful relationship between the PM and me makes or breaks my relationship with the company and the success of the project. I can't think of much else that ... See more
The term "dedicated vendor management" seems rather irrelevant to me. My contact people in agencies are project managers, they assign the projects and they are my go-to people for questions and feedback. With some agencies, I work only with one PM, in other cases I work with half a dozen PMs, but in any case, the existence of a reliable and trustful relationship between the PM and me makes or breaks my relationship with the company and the success of the project. I can't think of much else that such a dedicated vendor management could do for me.Collapse


IrinaN
Elaine Ruby
Philip Lees
Vera Schoen
Christopher Schröder
Dan Lucas
Michael Harris
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 01:52
Greek to English
Meaning? Jan 19, 2021

Kay-Viktor Stegemann wrote:

The term "dedicated vendor management" seems rather irrelevant to me.


To me it seems largely incomprehensible. Or is it just a label big agencies stick on to the labyrinthine and inscrutable software systems they expect translators to navigate if they want any work?

Like Kay-Victor, if I can work with an efficient and responsive PM, I'm happy. Otherwise I'm not.


Mervyn Henderson (X)
Philippe Etienne
Christopher Schröder
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
P.L.F. Persio
Sabrina Bruna
cuinadelletres
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 00:52
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
The only possible advantage Jan 19, 2021

is that you have all the thread of a long conversation so, if there are multiple PMs who take over, they can see all the questions that have been asked and the answers. That's the only advantage I see or can think of.

 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
No benefits that I have seen Jan 19, 2021

I only have one. A boutique agency I worked for in London was taken over by one of the global giants, and my favourite PM, Sexy Sandra*, became a VM.

Gone is the seductive French purr on the end of the phone gently cajoling and flattering me into squeezing in another quickie.

It’s now triple-cc’ed emails only from a hard-nosed leather-clad dominatrix whose sole role seems to be to tell me I’ve been a very, very naughty boy when I raise my prices, and to send out
... See more
I only have one. A boutique agency I worked for in London was taken over by one of the global giants, and my favourite PM, Sexy Sandra*, became a VM.

Gone is the seductive French purr on the end of the phone gently cajoling and flattering me into squeezing in another quickie.

It’s now triple-cc’ed emails only from a hard-nosed leather-clad dominatrix whose sole role seems to be to tell me I’ve been a very, very naughty boy when I raise my prices, and to send out school newsletters at the end of term.

It does make sense in a way to separate the two roles. Especially if you have 500 different PMs based in a distant land who only ever contact you once each and speak very little of any known language.

But obviously, as Kay says, the best relationship is with a single PM. Who is ideally also a translator. And wears a maid’s outfit.

*Name changed slightly (and probably not enough) for obvious reasons.
Collapse


Philip Lees
Zibow Retailleau
Michael Harris
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Baran Keki
Christine Andersen
P.L.F. Persio
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
Maid vs. dom Jan 19, 2021

Yes, Chris, a big yes. More frills with the maid and fewer thrills are preferable to more thrills with the dom and fewer frills. In this case. In other scenarios, well, it depends.

But, to answer the question, a company that even uses that kind of language, Dedicated Vendor Management (dedicated???) is a red flag right from the start.

[Edited at 2021-01-19 08:22 GMT]


Zibow Retailleau
Ventnai
Philip Lees
Christopher Schröder
Christine Andersen
P.L.F. Persio
Alexandra Scott
 
Ventnai
Ventnai  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:52
German to English
+ ...
Nothing Jan 19, 2021

All I get is imposed reductions in rates and marketing speak when I ask direct questions about company policies.

Christopher Schröder
Philip Lees
Marina Taffetani
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 01:52
Greek to English
Management Jan 19, 2021

Ian Keith Jones Williams wrote:

... marketing speak when I ask direct questions about company policies.


Yes. Mervyn balked at the "dedicated", but for me nowadays it's the word "management" that sends shivers down my spine.


Christopher Schröder
P.L.F. Persio
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:52
Member
English to French
Other Jan 19, 2021

Newsletters, management changes, status of the industry and notices that they must cut costs and pay later if I want them to survive and keep giving me work.

Philippe


Christopher Schröder
Philip Lees
Zibow Retailleau
P.L.F. Persio
Liena Vijupe
expressisverbis
Ingvild Karlsen
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 00:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
N/A Jan 19, 2021

I hardly ever work with agencies any more, or translation companies. In fact, I didn't really know what it meant until I had a look at the discussion here.

Zibow Retailleau
P.L.F. Persio
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
Management Jan 19, 2021

Philip touched on something there. That management usually means management of one side of things, the job, but management of your POs, your bills and your payment with these companies will surely tend to be rather more lax. One company I used to work for even used to call me a "customer" until I corrected them.

And, as I said on another thread a few days ago, once you start inventing BS positions such as Scrum Master and Agile Coach, Definition-of-Done Lead and Tribe Technology Lea
... See more
Philip touched on something there. That management usually means management of one side of things, the job, but management of your POs, your bills and your payment with these companies will surely tend to be rather more lax. One company I used to work for even used to call me a "customer" until I corrected them.

And, as I said on another thread a few days ago, once you start inventing BS positions such as Scrum Master and Agile Coach, Definition-of-Done Lead and Tribe Technology Lead ... Vendor Manager is just the first step in a BS process where nobody knows what's going on, the flood gates open, suddenly it’s not just Scrum Masters and Coaches, but you start hearing from Back Office Mistresses, Back Door Masters, Dark Room Leads and the rest, and really the translator has the ultimate sensation of finding himself or herself spreadeagled, handcuffed and fettered on a leather bench surrounded by walls with racks of whips and clips and clamps, and chains hanging down, looking up at a woman wearing a peaked cap, high heels and nothing else, who calls herself the Dungeon Mistress and barks fearsome, guttural orders.

I mean, really, who wants or needs that kind of thing? ...


[Edited at 2021-01-19 10:02 GMT]
Collapse


Zibow Retailleau
P.L.F. Persio
Christopher Schröder
Yvonne Gallagher
expressisverbis
 
Agneta Pallinder
Agneta Pallinder  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:52
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Useless Jan 19, 2021

I keep away from agencies with "vendor management" - just a distancing and complicating device.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Christopher Schröder
Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:52
Member (2008)
Italian to English
No idea Jan 19, 2021

ProZ.com Staff wrote:

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What do you appreciate the most in working with companies with dedicated Vendor Management?".

This poll was originally submitted by Diego_CW. View the poll results »



I have no idea what "dedicated Vendor Management" is.


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Explanation Jan 19, 2021

Tom in London wrote:
I have no idea what "dedicated Vendor Management" is.

It means they have staff who devote all or most of their time to vendor management.

Vendor management is about managing the relationship with suppliers, in this case freelance translators. The equivalent of a personnel/HR department. Recruitment, rates, disputes, information. All the admin that isn’t related to specific translation projects and dealt with by a project manager.

It’s billed as looking after suppliers, whereas in reality I think it’s more about keeping them in line.

PS I was wrong earlier. I have another VM. But I don’t know who it is. Which must say something.


Mervyn Henderson (X)
expressisverbis
 
Pages in topic:   [1 2 3 4] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: What do you appreciate the most in working with companies with dedicated Vendor Management?






CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »