Revolutionising enterprise contractor management: a global content agency’s success with Remote

Established in 1993, this global content, language, and linguistics agency encountered increasing challenges in managing its expansive contractor network. With headquarters in the UK and offices in San Francisco, Singapore, New York, and other major cities, the agency plays a pivotal role in crafting culturally resonant global campaigns for high-profile brands. It relies on a vast network of international contractors to meet the diverse needs of global markets.

Despite its global reach, the agency encountered several operational challenges in paying contractors worldwide from a single UK entity. The rapid scale of operations led to issues such as:

• Inefficient multi-currency management: Cross-border transactions were difficult to handle due to system limitations, resulting in high SWIFT fees and slowed global payment operations.

• Payment delays: Processing over 1,000 invoices per month created a heavy administrative burden, leading to backlogs and operational inefficiencies.

• Onboarding complexity: The contractor onboarding process was slow, often delayed by months, affecting compliance and payment timelines.

• Compliance challenges: Managing contractors in multiple countries required navigating a complex regulatory landscape, increasing the difficulty of compliance.

• Limited financial control: The centralised finance system was restricted to paying businesses rather than individuals, limiting flexibility.

• Business continuity risks: Delays in payments risked contractor churn, posing a threat to ongoing operations.

The agency partnered with Remote to address these challenges by migrating over 2,000 contractors to Remote’s platform. Key initiatives included:

• Cross-team collaboration: Over 100 Remote team members across product, legal, compliance, and sales collaborated to develop a tailored solution.

• In-depth consultations: Both in-person and virtual consultations ensured Remote fully understood the agency’s unique needs.

• Comprehensive action plan: The teams developed a plan prioritising improvements in bulk invoice processing, multi-currency payments, and enhanced rate controls.

• Custom features: Remote co-developed features like bulk invoice uploads and advanced multi-currency payment controls to streamline processes.

The partnership delivered transformative results:

• Invoice consolidation: Over 1,000 invoices were consolidated into a single monthly invoice, drastically improving efficiency.

• 100% payment accuracy: Payments were processed automatically, ensuring accuracy and boosting contractor satisfaction.

• Faster onboarding: Remote automated the contractor onboarding process, reducing the time from months to just days or hours.

• API integration: Automation of key processes like onboarding, contract management, and payments minimised errors and ensured compliance.

• Guaranteed payouts: Contractors were paid on time, even if client payments were delayed, enhancing relationships and operational smoothness.

• Financial management: Remote’s One Account feature allowed the agency to seamlessly manage financial operations across multiple regions.

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Switching between currency accounts (USD, GBP, EUR) was streamlined through SSO, improving account management.

• SWIFT fee control: The agency gained better control over SWIFT fees, increasing transparency and reducing transaction costs.

• Improved business continuity: By reducing contractor churn, the agency ensured smoother operations and stronger long-term relationships.

In addition, the company leveraged Blackbird.io’s no-code automation platform to streamline their workflows between Remote and Plunet, their Translation Business Management System. With Remote integrated into Blackbird, whenever a localisation project was set to "Active" in Plunet, a new contractor employment type was automatically created in Remote. This automation reduced manual data entry, saving time and minimising errors.

This case study showcases how Remote’s innovative, customer-centric solutions enabled a global content agency to overcome complex operational challenges, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and future readiness.