Through prevention, innovation, and sustainable solutions, Anticimex has revolutionised pest control. The company creates alternatives to harmful pesticides that are better for people and the planet. Terje Skaaland, Chief Financial Officer at Anticimex, explains how digitalisation and sustainability go hand in hand towards achieving this goal.
Anticimex is an innovator and leader in its field, supporting its global customers to meet the new demands for healthy environments across 18 markets worldwide. The company has an unwavering focus on digitalisation and sustainability, viewed as essential elements to delivering the best outcomes for its customers.
Last week Anticimex CFO, Terje Skaaland, joined 3stepIT Chief Commercial Officer Jason Skidmore to explore why he believes managing technology with a future focus is a strategic priority for the company.
Jason: Terje, pest control has always been a vital part of healthy societies, but it’s come a long way since Anticimex was founded in the 1930s; how have things changed?
Terje: We started as a family business in 1934, and as we’ve grown into a global company, we’ve always maintained the customer focus you get with a small business.
We realised early on that people want solutions that don’t harm their or the planet’s health. To achieve this, we needed a new way of doing things, so we championed a shift away from the traditional focus of pest control by helping our customers think about pest prevention. We want to stop pest occurrence before it happens by using early treatment methods to limit damage instead of activities meant to treat an already active issue.
Jason: What role has digitalisation played in making this shift?
Terje: Like many industries, we turned to technology to help us find new answers to old problems. We developed a digital solution called Anticimex SMART, an intelligent system that keeps an eye on things you don't want to see – as we like to say! By constantly monitoring and instantly reacting, it prevents costly infestations in an environmentally friendly way.
We install a system of strategically placed sensors that detect infestations and we use non-toxic traps to deal with pests efficiently. The SMART units are connected and constantly report back to our data hub.
There are a couple of significant benefits to this approach - solving an existing infestation can be time-consuming and costly, but with Anticimex SMART, we can act fast on early warnings and deal with potential issues before they become significant problems. It’s also much better for the environment because we can use 100% non-toxic traps, which creates healthier work environments.
Jason: That’s clever, so is it really about minimising risks and liabilities?
Terje: Absolutely. Most organisations today are in the business of risk minimisation – we all want to limit our exposure to regulatory, environmental, and operational liabilities. Most of us need to find trusted partners to make that happen.
We offer our customers constant monitoring to minimise the risk of an infestation that could harm your business and reputation. Our non-toxic traps guarantee compliance with laws and regulations, and our data hub allows customers to export information for audit purposes easily.
Jason: That sounds like it has parallels to the approach you’ve taken to managing your tech assets.
Terje: It sure does. As I said, finding like-minded partners is absolutely crucial to delivering a future-focused strategy that builds resilience and minimises risk.
Anticimex has been working with 3stepIT since 2012, but in 2018 we carried out a major digital transformation project across 18 locations in Norway. The goal was to refresh our tech and establish a comprehensive operation and support service while sustainably disposing of used devices.
We have never done such a large equipment replacement before, so we knew we needed a partner who understood how crucial digitalisation and sustainability were to the future of our business and our customers.
A big part of our sustainability strategy focuses on employee engagement and well-being, so having the right digital tools to support the team’s success is really important. Contributing to a simpler everyday working life for them was one of our goals.
We use 3stepIT to finance our technology. Using flexible finance frees up capital and minimises risk by allowing us to carry out regular, predictable device refreshes. It means our people always have the best tools for the job, and we’re not exposed to unforeseen budget blow-outs due to ageing devices.
We also brought all our devices to 3stepIT’s asset management platform, which gives us complete oversight and control of our IT estate, lowers costs, improves user experience, and ensures our IT support is easy for all employees. It has many parallels with our data hub, and it’s great to find a partner that recognises the value of being able to act fast on early warnings and take proactive steps towards healthy operations.
Jason: How was 3stepIT aligned with your sustainability values and ambitions?
Terje: We’re striving to be the industry’s environmentally friendly alternative, and we only want to work with suppliers who share that ethos. Like everyone, we’re critically aware of the growing regulatory requirements to operate sustainably. We want confidence that our old equipment is handled responsibly, taking into account strict data security requirements and creating minimal environmental impact.
As part of 3stepIT’s circular Technology Lifecycle Management solution, our used devices are collected in specially designed secure cabinets and safely transported to 3stepIT’s refurbishing centre, where they undergo an ISO-certified data sanitization process before being refurbished for resale.
This approach gives us complete peace of mind that we’re fulfilling our corporate responsibilities and eliminating liabilities associated with data and e-waste. But we’re also really proud of the positive impact our old tech can have when it goes on to have a second life with a new user.
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