Sometimes localization setups that worked fine for years stop scaling. The team grew, the product expanded into more markets, the release cadence picked up - and what used to be manageable is now a constant source of friction. Deadlines slip, quality becomes inconsistent, and the people responsible spend more time firefighting than doing actual localization work.
Other times, the setup was never quite right to begin with. A TMS was implemented in a hurry, workflows were designed around assumptions that turned out to be wrong, or the person who built it all moved on and took the knowledge with them. The tools are there, but nobody trusts the process - and teams start working around it instead of through it.
The tools are rarely the problem. It's how they were put together - and whether anyone designed for what happens when things change.
This is the kind of situation I specialize in. I start with a thorough audit - not just the tooling, but the workflows, the handoff points, the quality loops, and how localization actually fits into the broader product development cycle. Most of the time, the fix isn't about replacing everything. It's about reconfiguring what's already there, closing the gaps in the process, and making sure the setup reflects how the team and the product work today, not how they worked two years ago.
What makes this different from a vendor-side assessment is perspective. I've been the person inside the company inheriting these broken setups - at gaming studios, telecom companies, e-commerce platforms. I know what it feels like when localization becomes the thing everyone complains about but nobody knows how to fix. And I know that the goal isn't a perfect system on paper, but one that actually holds up on a Tuesday afternoon when three teams need translations for the same release.
By the end of an engagement, the setup works again, the team understands why it works, and everything is documented well enough that you don't need me to keep it running. The goal is always to restore confidence - in the process, in the tools, and in the team's ability to handle localization at the pace the product demands.