AI Translation[Case study]
TEIJIN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Selected based on a comprehensive review of several companies. Improves operational efficiency.

Teijin Medical Technologies continues to grow as a company that supports the future of society through continuous company-wide “transformation and challenge”.
There are a wide variety of situations in which translation is required, such as dealing with sales agents, mainly for overseas sales and marketing, and pharmaceutical applications.

Interviewees

Overseas Sales Team, Distributor Sales Department Mr. Koyama	Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Department Regulatory Affairs Group Mr. Masago
Responsible for sales and marketing of medical equipment overseas, mainly with sales agents.	Filing of regulatory applications for medical devices for overseas markets.

■Huge amount of translation work, including documents for applications overseas and translation of overseas documents and contracts, etc. for preparing applications
―　In what sort of situations is translation required?

Mr. Koyama：Our department (Distributor Sales Department) sells medical equipment overseas, so we need to translate marketing materials sent to sales agents, contracts, and daily e-mails with overseas customers.

Mr. Masago：Our department (Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Department) collects information on foreign pharmaceutical laws and regulations in English and from Taiwan, Thailand, and Korea. This process requires translation. We incorporate this information and translate it into English to prepare regulatory filings for overseas markets.

■AI translation was adopted within the group, but due to concerns about accuracy, translations continued to be produced in-house and outsourced

―　How did you handle translations prior to adopting AN-ZIN?

Mr. Koyama：Basically, we kept it in-house without outsourcing it.

Mr. Masago：Because of the many technical terms used in the documents for overseas pharmaceutical applications, we often had to ask an outside translation company to translate them for us.

■Create a comparison chart with other companies’ AI translation tools and compare the results to make a decision

―　Your company had already introduced AI translation tools throughout your Group companies prior to AN-ZIN, so why did you consider introducing another AI translation tool?

Mr. Masago：The AI translation service that the Teijin Group had been using was not accurate enough, so we were considering introducing an AI translation service that was accurate and easy to use in order to improve the efficiency of our operations.

―　You compared several other companies’ products, what made you decide on T-tact AN-ZIN®?

Mr. Koyama：We used four different AI translation tools to translate the same document, and then created a comparison chart to compare the results. AN-ZIN was superior in terms of price and was judged overall, including other performance aspects.

―　How did you explain this to the company?

Mr. Koyama：We needed to clearly explain why the AI translation tool we were currently using was not sufficient and why we needed to introduce a new AI translation tool at a new cost. We created a comparison chart with multiple AI translation tools, including AN-ZIN, and explained it to them, which convinced them.

In addition, although all tools cleared our internal security checks, your company was quick to respond to our questions and quickly provided us with the necessary documents for internal approval, which allowed us to proceed smoothly with our internal procedures.

■Translation with multiple engines, depending on document content

―　How have you been using AN-ZIN since its adoption?

Mr. Koyama：Our department (Distributor Sales Department) uses AN-ZIN for translating contracts. We use the legal engine (optional) when translating contracts, and then use the legal engine and general-purpose engine together for translating ordinary warranties and other documents.

Other than translating contracts, I use AN-ZIN to brush up on my English writing, for example, by e-mail. I use AN-ZIN for checking, especially for difficult Japanese expressions.。

Mr. Masago：Our department (Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Department) collects information on overseas pharmaceutical regulations in English and from Taiwan, Thailand, and Korea, translates the information in AN-ZIN, checks the content, and uses it as a reference when submitting overseas applications.

The most difficult time to apply for a medical device is when applying for a new application, which requires translating all the base Japanese documents into English. Once we have the English versions of all the materials, we can then prepare the documents for applications with some updates. We also use AN-ZIN to translate a large amount of documents for our initial applications, and after that we use it for renewals and when translating new materials.

Mr. Koyama：It is currently used by two departments, and several people are actively utilizing it. We are considering more effective ways to use the system.

■Cost and time savings when translating large volumes

―　Have you seen any changes in your business since implementing AI translation?

Mr. Koyama：Intuitively, there has been an improvement in efficiency of about 20%. If the volume of documents handled were to increase, the effect could be even higher. When in doubt, AI translation is helpful as a confirmation resource. The process of deciding on the final document was sped up by comparing the English text to the Japanese text and then back to the English text and using another AI translation.

Mr. Masago：Adopting AN-ZIN has sped up the process in quite a few respects. Multiple people could translate a whole set of words in a short period of time. Moreover, you can confirm the content on the spot, allowing you to quickly move on to the next step. Checking the content will be a manual process and will take some time, but the same internal checks would be required even if we hired an outside party. I think we have significantly reduced costs and saved time in that regard.

Here is a summary of the questions received during the interview

Question1：On several occasions, I was unable to upload materials when translating files. What are the possible causes? Please let us know if there is any problem with uploading such items.

Answer：Please feel free to contact us in case of any errors, etc., as they may be caused by the translation file, an incorrect file name, or something on our side.

Question 2：Is it possible to download the file translation to a text file and make corrections afterwards, and then link it to the original text instead of editing it on the AN-ZIN screen? Is there an easy way to make a TM?

Answer：A feature updated last year allows downloading to a CSV file with the original text in column A and the translated text in column B. (When downloading, a file reflecting the original text + translated text (bilingual format) is selected.) Using this method, the modified file can be used as a bilingual glossary. It is impractical and difficult to link from a text file to the original text in AN-ZIN.

Question 3：Sometimes the translation takes a long time, sometimes it is short. Are there any other possible causes besides server congestion?

Answer：If the translation process does not proceed after 3 hours (depending on engine selection and server load) of file translation, please cancel the translation, and try again. If the translation process does not start even after you run the file translation again, please contact us, as this may be due to the target file or a problem on our side. If you check the operation using another file and there is no problem, the file was most likely the cause. If you are in a hurry, please contact us.

Question 4：When I did a translation, it took so long that I canceled it by closing the file, is that the correct way to do it? Is there any data left on the server if I do it this way? Or is it in the process of being translated behind the scenes?

Answer：If you cancel the process in the manner you mentioned, then no data will remain and there will be no translation in progress.

Question 5：Once uploaded and in the translating state, does translation continue even if I close the terminal? For example, if translation is started before moving and then the PC is disconnected from the LAN or turned off, does translation still occur?

Answer：The translation process on the AN-ZIN side will continue even if you close the terminal.

The service effectively combines tasks that can be done by machines with those that can only be done by humans and promotes the efficient operation of business. Time is of the essence, especially in pharmaceutical applications, and we hope that AI translation will further improve efficiency.

With 60 years of trust and experience, Toin is committed to providing support before and after the introduction of its products. Please feel free to contact us.