Do you know about logistics translation?

by Target Language Translation Services

- July 26, 2021

As a transport expert, whether of people or goods, you are at the heart of international exchanges made via sea, air, rail, and road. The significance of global supply chains and our reliance upon them to keep the country and its key workers on the move cannot be underestimated. Given the growing geography of logistics industry, drivers and people handling the cargo and its administration very often encounter language barriers. Truck drivers, masters of ships and other similar vehicles transporting perishable goods, on the one hand and customs officials on the other hand – they all work with different languages. And language barriers definitely slow down the transportation process. To make translating your communications into several languages easier, you need a professional you can have total trust in.

Difficulties in Logistics Translation

When handling with various countries, you have to be able to offer the appropriate translation of your logistics documentation so as to keep everything in compliance with the law. However, there might be some difficulties when it comes to this kind of translation.

Take a look at the difficulties encountered when translating logistics documentation.

Logistics Regulations

Logistic documentation includes various documents such as the letter of inquiry, proforma invoice, the bill of lading, freight bill, FOB (Free on Board), payment terms, certificate of origin, etc.

Obviously, these are all documents written by a logistics specialist who is aware of U.S. laws and rules of the transportation industry.

So, the first problem occurring with logistics translation is not having a translator familiar with the legal system of the target country and language.

It’s not enough to hire a translator who speaks the target language perfectly. You need someone who knows or is able to find out everything about the transportation logistics laws of the target country.

Only with a fluent translator who is knowledgeable about the logistics regulations will you be certain your documentation is valid and you’re good to go.

Writing style

The main characteristics of logistics documents is that they are written in a certain writing style suitable for official legal documents, which means logistics documents include specific terminology, specific phraseology, a clearly defined structure and a set writing style and tone.

This brings the other difficulty of translating logistics documentation: having the knowledge about the writing style of the target language’s logistics documentation.

Therefore, when it comes to translating logistics documentation, word to word translation is out of the picture.

In conclusion, you need to have a translator who is experienced in general translation, familiar with both the US and the target country’s legal system and aware of the writing style, terminology, and phraseology of both legal systems.

In addition, if there’s a variation in the structure of the source language’s and target language’s structure of logistics documentation, the translator needs to make sure that every single fact is transparent and translated to the target language with nothing left out.

Some Functions of Logistics Translation

These are various ways in which translation services play a key role in ensuring the international efficiency of the logistics and supply chain sector.

Avoid the cultural nuances

In the supply chain sector, effective communication is crucial both in ensuring logistics operatives and truck drivers are armed with the right information to satisfy customers’ ever more demanding delivery schedules, and making sure that customers are fully clear about the supply chain process.

For successful communication, translation isn’t done word for word , sentence for sentence. The cultural and linguistic nuances need to be understood and observed. Reliable and effective communication can then form the backbone of supply chain logistics. By managing expectations and being transparent and predictable in your communications, it can become a catalyst for growth.

Transparency and Reputational Management

Supply chain transparency refers to the requirement of a company to be aware of and understand what is happening further up the supply chain, and to communicate that information both internally and externally.

Customers are increasingly well-informed. They want to know where the products they are buying come from, where ingredients and materials are sourced, the conditions under which they are produced, the labour used and even the carbon footprint and ethical practices .

As the demand for supply chain transparency has increased, so has the reputational risk for companies. It is essential that these key messages are handled with the utmost care; a translation misstep could prove to be incredibly costly.

Effective Collaboration

Effective collaboration between companies can help with supply chain risk assessments. Based on global industrial and political trends, it provides a way to mitigate the risk of stock shortages. It can also help to streamline internal processes and reduce over-exploitation of the resources used on tasks. In addition, effective collaboration can help to generate referrals from satisfied business partners and produce more business.

Effective collaboration relies upon smooth information flow, often across countries, sometimes across continents and frequently in numerous languages. Translation services can prove essential in establishing and developing these productive collaborations.

Risk Management and Resilience

Some steps can be taken to make the supply chain more flexible and resilient. These include: visibility, so that disruptions can be detected on time; close cooperation with suppliers and distributors – as mentioned above – so that alternative supply routes can be found; and a solid incident response plan, to provide a course of action when disruption occurs.

A good quality incident response plan needs to be accessible to all. If it is only available in English and an incident occurs in another country where English isn’t the native language, you will require a timely translation service, or even better the foresight to have the translated document ready should it need to be called upon.

Need translation services for the logistics sector? Target Language Translation Services is the agency for you

With our international network of translators, Target Language Translation Services are proud to specialize in multilingual translation for the transport and logistics industries with top-quality work, very reasonable rates, and unparalleled linguists with years of experience in the logistics and transport fields.

Our logistics translation services include:

Ocean and river transport translation

Logistics translation services for rail and road

Translation services for air carriers

Among translation services for air carriers, we also provide translation services such as: Commercial services, Freight transport, Practical flight information, Aeroplane safety instructions, In-flight magazines and publications.

This article is reprinted from Albion Languages, BeTranslated and UNIVERSALCARGO.

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