Cargotec, a global leader in cargo handling, has been working with 3 Step IT for almost a decade to manage its IT equipment needs. 3 Step IT ensures stress-free acquisition, management, and replacement of IT equipment through a 3-step service model. Cargotec is so pleased with 3 Step IT's service and approach that it plans to evaluate expanding their partnership to more operating countries. 3 Step IT manages the leasing and replacement of around €3.5 million of IT equipment for Cargotec every 3 years.

1. For almost a decade the 3 Step IT approach has been
proving its worth with one of our leading clients, Cargotec,
the global number one in cargo-handling. Cargotec’s
satisfaction with our 3-step service model – ensuring
stress free acquisition, management during use and
replacement of IT equipment – combined with our
transparent and open service, truly made us stand out from
the competition. In fact, this active global player is so
pleased with our service and approach that they plan to
evaluate our operational model in more of their operating
countries.
On the move – 3 Step IT’s strengthening
partnership with a global leader
More than leasing
The new way to acquire IT

2. Proven and practical IT solutions
Cargo-handling in the international shipping industry is no simple business. So designing
IT solutions to suit the fast-paced, large-scale and global operations of a company like
Cargotec was an exciting project for 3 Step IT. We first stepped in to manage Cargotec’s IT
needs in 2002, and now we manage the leasing, provide asset register services, and
undertake the 3-yearly replacement of around €3.5 million worth of IT equipment.
Instead we ensure that our clients’ equipment is always
up to date because we take care of every aspect of the
regular removal, post-usage data security protection and
replacement of their IT. “We just gather the equipment
in one place and let 3 Step IT know that they should
collect it,” says Marko.
Not only is our system smarter, but it’s also greener.
3 Step IT finds a new home for 95% of the equipment
returned to us, and the remainder is recycled in an
environmentally friendly manner.
For Cargotec, the decision to work with 3 Step IT has had
far-reaching consequences. According to Marko,
“whereas in the past the equipment was easily in use
for five to six years, making it incompatible with new
software and new ways of operating, working with 3
Step IT has allowed us to manage the equipment
update cycle more systematically – and to plan ahead
financially”.
Stepping it up, keeping it moving
“3 Step IT had a whole service to offer, whereas banks
and other financing service providers only provided
financing and no other services,” Marko tells us, and
what’s more, “the service they deliver has been pretty
much worry free the whole time. It has functioned as it
should, which is really quite rare in this industry.”
In fact, our combination of reliable service provision, our
transparency and our service-minded attitude has been
so successful that Cargotec has adopted our operational
model in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. And
they’re now working with us to evaluate how best to bring
the 3 Step IT operational model to even more of the
countries in which they operate.
For 3 Step IT this means we’re keen to start proving the
benefits of our straightforward and down-to-earth
approach on an even larger, more international scale. For
Cargotec, it means that they have more time and energy
to focus on doing what they do best – keeping global
cargo on the move.
Cargotec turned to us at a time when more and more
studies, such as one by IT business advisory RFG, had
begun praising the cost-saving and competitive
advantages of leasing equipment rather than buying it.
It’s now come to be a recognised reality that the properly
managed replacement of IT, based on a 3-year
equipment lifecycle, ensures substantial savings to the
customer in terms of man-years and also improves
personnel satisfaction.
Hi-tech, low stress
It’s around these proven advantages of sensibly managed
leasing that the 3-step approach was developed. We
manage equipment acquisition, provide asset registration
services, and see to the replacement of IT equipment at
the end of the agreed period. In other words, we deal with
the process of leasing from start to finish. This gives our
clients stress-free, sustainable and high-tech solutions,
alongside honest and open-minded service.
“Partnership with 3 Step IT helps us with the bigger
package,” explains Marko Hietanen, Director of Indirect
Sourcing at Cargotec, “like being able to handle big
projects with less man-hours”. Furthermore, “it also
helps us to raise the level of service for our end users,”
he says.
Based on our experience at 3 Step IT, with well-managed
leasing, a company can make total cost of ownership
(TCO) savings of as much as 20% – by cutting support,
maintenance and disposal costs – all the while staying on
the cutting edge of IT technology.
3 Step IT – changing the gameplay
The fact is that not all IT leasing companies work the way
we do. Most lessors see only about 20% of leased
equipment returned to them at the end of the leasing
period. With 3 Step IT, the scheduled removal,
replacement and resale of all equipment is built into the
way we operate, so that our clients return more than 80%
of their leased equipment to us to be replaced.
The 3-step system ensures that our clients don’t fall into
the trap of forever postponing purchases until the next
quarter.
www.3stepit.com