Case study

How a Language Services
Company Improved DTP
Cost Efficiency with a
Dedicated Peerspoly
Delivery Team

Moving from fragmented freelancer capacity to a dedicated DTP team helped the company reduce its cost-to-revenue ratio, improve production visibility and build a more scalable delivery model.

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Client DEMA Solutions

Focus DTP production capacity

Model Dedicated Peerspoly delivery team

From fragmented resources to managed delivery capacity.

A dedicated DTP team built around the client's existing production workflow.

Results at a glance

A more efficient and scalable DTP delivery model.

36.7% → 32.8%

DTP purchasing cost as a percentage of revenue across four recurring accounts.

4 accounts

The four recurring client accounts included in the case study analysis.

~48%

Of purchased DTP production hours across the four analyzed accounts were handled by Peerspoly by July.

No significant negative impact

On quality or turnaround times, according to the company's DTP Manager.

The challenge

DTP capacity built around individual resources

Before introducing Peerspoly, the company managed most of its DTP production through a network of freelancers and external suppliers.

Project Managers typically assigned work according to availability, cost and previous experience with individual resources. Freelancer rates varied considerably, from approximately €5 to €18 per hour.

The model worked, but it created several operational limitations. There was no centralized view of available DTP capacity, and resource allocation was largely dependent on individual Project Managers and the availability of specific freelancers. Quotations could also vary significantly between suppliers, making production costs less predictable.

The company had previously operated an internal DTP team as well. While this provided greater control, fixed internal planning introduced another challenge: capacity was comparatively rigid. If a project required more hours than originally estimated, subsequent work could be delayed. Maintaining internal capacity also created its own requirements around training, management and utilization.

The company therefore needed a model that could provide the control of an internal team without recreating the rigidity and cost structure of one.

The solution

A dedicated DTP delivery team through Peerspoly

Instead of continuing to build DTP production primarily around individual freelancers, the company introduced a dedicated Peerspoly team.

The objective was not simply to find lower-cost resources. It was to create DTP production capacity that could be coordinated, trained and progressively integrated into the company's existing workflow.

With the new model, DTP requests could increasingly be directed to one coordinated team rather than distributed across multiple individual suppliers. Average productivity benchmarks were also introduced and used as a reference when preparing estimates and client quotations.

This gave the company a more consistent basis for planning production costs instead of relying predominantly on quotations provided by individual freelancers.

A team collaborating in front of a computer monitor.

From external resources to managed delivery capacity

Centralized coordination changed the way DTP work was managed.

One of the most important changes was the introduction of centralized coordination.

A Project Coordinator could manage internal assignments, prepare quotations for simpler files and perform an initial check of files before delivery. For Project Managers, this meant fewer individual suppliers to contact when assessing availability or requesting quotations. For the DTP Manager, it meant less time spent on routine allocation, checking and delivery activities.

The dedicated structure also created something that had been much harder to achieve with independent freelancers: continuous knowledge transfer. When designers encounter technical questions, they can involve the DTP Manager directly. Solutions and errors can then be shared across the team rather than remaining with a single individual resource.

Over time, this allows the team to learn the company's working methods and become progressively more autonomous.

“The main advantage of having a dedicated DTP team is the ability to manage and train the team directly, which is not really possible with a network of freelancers.”

The measurable result

A lower DTP cost-to-revenue ratio

To evaluate the financial impact, purchasing costs and sales revenue were analyzed across four recurring DTP accounts.

During the January-April period, Peerspoly's involvement was absent or still negligible. From May onward, the dedicated team began handling an increasingly meaningful share of the workload.

Before Peerspoly became materially involved

36.7%

May-July with growing Peerspoly adoption

32.8%

Recurring accounts 4 accounts

The change from 36.7% to 32.8% represents a reduction of approximately 3.8 percentage points, or roughly a 10% relative improvement in the purchasing cost-to-revenue ratio.

Importantly, this was not based on a single project or one particularly favorable account. The analysis covers four recurring sources of DTP work.

Adoption increased as the team became integrated

By July, Peerspoly was handling approximately 48% of purchased DTP hours across the analyzed accounts.

The financial improvement happened while Peerspoly was progressively taking over a larger share of production.

By July, approximately 48% of purchased DTP hours across the four analyzed accounts were being handled by the Peerspoly team.

This progression matters. Peerspoly was not being used simply as an occasional low-cost supplier. It was becoming part of the company's regular production infrastructure.

External freelancers still remained useful for workload peaks, specialist requirements and situations where Peerspoly capacity was unavailable. But their role had changed: freelancers were no longer the foundation of the company's DTP production capacity.

Cost efficiency without giving up operational control

Lower costs only matter if quality and delivery remain protected.

Reducing production costs would have limited value if it resulted in lower quality, slower delivery or greater management risk.

According to the DTP Manager, the company experienced no significant negative impact on either quality or turnaround times after introducing the dedicated team. In some areas, operational control improved.

Technical issues can now be escalated before they become problems. Information is easier to trace, and solutions can be shared across the team so that the same mistake is less likely to be repeated by another designer.

A practical limitation remained.

The main limitation identified was a short period during the European afternoon when the Peerspoly team may be unavailable because of the time-zone difference. For occasional urgent end-of-day requests during that window, the company continues to use external resources.

Rather than eliminating freelancers completely, the model created a clearer production structure: dedicated capacity for core work, with external resources available for overflow and specialist requirements.

Turning available capacity into new skills

The team can become stronger over time.

The dedicated-team model also changed how periods of lower production volume could be used. Instead of simply carrying unused capacity, available time can be invested in training.

Designers can be introduced to additional software, workflows and technical requirements, gradually expanding the range of work the team can manage independently.

This creates an additional long-term benefit that is difficult to achieve with a loose network of external suppliers: the production capability itself becomes stronger over time.

The goal is not simply to purchase DTP hours more cheaply. It is to build a team that becomes increasingly capable, autonomous and aligned with the company's way of working.

The outcome

From outsourcing DTP tasks to building delivery capacity

The biggest change was ultimately not a single cost reduction. It was the shift from managing a collection of external resources to operating a dedicated delivery team.

A lower purchasing cost-to-revenue ratio across the analyzed accounts.

More predictable estimating and pricing.

Centralized allocation of DTP work and easier visibility of resource availability.

Reduced day-to-day operational involvement for the DTP Manager.

Better knowledge sharing and technical traceability.

The ability to continuously train and expand the team's capabilities.

Less dependence on individual freelancers.

These improvements were achieved without a reported significant deterioration in quality or turnaround performance.

When does a dedicated DTP delivery team make sense?

Consistent DTP capacity changes the economics.

A dedicated model is not necessarily the right answer for every organization. Companies with highly irregular DTP volumes may still be better served by individual external resources.

But for language service companies that need consistent DTP capacity throughout the year, the economics can look very different. A dedicated Peerspoly team provides a way to build production capacity without having to recruit, employ and develop an equivalent internal team from scratch.

It also creates a team that can be managed, trained and integrated into existing processes rather than functioning simply as another external supplier.

“If a company wants a dedicated DTP team that is already trained and coordinated, with competitive costs and the ability to guarantee availability throughout the year, then a model such as Peerspoly could be a very interesting solution.”

Build DTP capacity around your workflow

Peerspoly builds dedicated delivery teams for language service companies that need additional production capacity without adding the complexity of managing a larger network of individual resources.