Key benefits
- Significant reduction in translation and publishing costs
- High content reuse improving efficiency and consistency
- Faster response to regulatory changes
- Improved audit traceability and compliance
- Scalable documentation processes supporting business growth
The challenge of growth
HORIBA Medical experienced rapid expansion, with sales tripling since joining the HORIBA Group. Documentation demands increased significantly, with a small team managing thousands of documents across multiple languages and formats.
The documentation team struggled with inefficient processes, relying heavily on copy-and-paste methods that introduced risks in quality, consistency, and traceability. As product complexity grew, so did the need for scalable, structured documentation practices to avoid rising costs and declining quality.
Meeting the Growth Challenge
The team recognized that traditional documentation methods were no longer sustainable. Without change, they risked falling behind business growth and regulatory requirements.
To address these challenges, the team explored structured content solutions and adopted a topic-based authoring model using DITA XML.
This approach enabled modular content creation, allowing information to be reused across multiple documents and product lines. They also implemented Tridion Docs to manage structured content, enabling version control, multilingual publishing, and lifecycle management. This provided a centralized system capable of handling large volumes of content efficiently while ensuring compliance.
Challenges
- Rapid business growth increasing documentation volume
- Lack of structured content reuse
- High translation and desktop publishing costs
- Increasing regulatory requirements (IVDR, EU Data Act)
- Limited traceability and audit readiness
- Inefficient manual processes
Solutions
- Adoption of structured content (DITA XML)
- Implementation of Tridion Docs for content management
- Automated publishing eliminating DTP costs
- Centralized content reuse and version control
- Streamlined multilingual content delivery
Results
- 80% reduction in translation spend
- 80–99% content reuse achieved
- Expansion from 15 to 27 languages
- 5/5 compliance and audit readiness rating
- Increased output to 930+ documents annually
Building a Scalable Future
The transition to structured content enabled HORIBA Medical to not only improve efficiency but also future-proof its documentation processes. By creating reusable content modules, the team ensured consistency and reduced duplication of effort.
The system also strengthened compliance by enabling full traceability of changes, version comparisons, and audit-ready documentation. Regulatory updates could be applied once and automatically reflected across all relevant documents.
Looking ahead, the team is exploring AI-driven capabilities to further enhance authoring and translation processes. Structured content provides a strong foundation for these innovations, positioning the organization for continued optimization.
- Structured content enables scalability and efficiency
- Content reuse improves both quality and cost control
- Automation is critical for regulatory compliance
“We could no longer rely on traditional documentation methods—we needed scalable, repeatable processes to support business growth.”
HORIBA Medical’s documentation team has developed a culture of continuous optimization, leveraging structured content and automation to eliminate inefficiencies. Their scientific mindset drives innovation, from building custom tools to refining workflows.
With a strong foundation in place, the team is well-positioned to embrace future advancements such as AI-assisted authoring and intelligent automation. Their journey demonstrates how strategic content management can transform documentation into a scalable, high-value business function.
