Several points need to be made about Simmons’s Centralized Dealer Services (CDS) program right up front. The first is that this new program (launched early in 2006) to serve smaller and more remote Simmons dealers was a purposeful, planned strategic marketing and business decision, not merely a cost cutting reactive decision to save money. Steve Fendrich, Executive Vice President of Sales, who brings 25 years of retail service knowledge to the table, made this point very strongly. "Simmons has been known for our product innovation over the years," stated Fendrich citing such breakthrough technologies and brands as the "pocketed coil^®", the No-Flip Beautyrest^® 2000 and the BackCare^® product line. "Now we are taking a hard look at the way our mattress industry does business with our dealers and taking the first bold steps to make use of new technologies, approaches and solutions that ultimately increase efficiency and actually provide better, quicker and more complete service to our smaller dealers! By the way, other industries have been using these tools and technologies for years, but we are the first in the mattress/ bedding industry to take these steps," says Fendrich. "We are again the pioneers!!" Fendrich emphasizes that the CDS program is "a strategic decision to move towards the future and in the long haul improve the relationship between Simmons and our dealers."

Second, the program was received with varying degrees of enthusiasm depending upon the mindset and attitudes of individual dealers, but with time and training more and more dealers are not only coming to accept the CDS program, but actually prefer it to the old rather inefficient, time-consuming face-to-face way of doing business. When the original CDS model was implemented, Simmons saw the possibilities and heard the dealer response. The idea was expanded; using the call center company’s specially trained dealer-dedicated reps and their state of the art response system. (It should be noted that Jim Sharkey, Director of the CDS program says that if the dedicated CDS representative is not able to provide the necessary training services based on the needs of the retailer, and warrants a live meeting, there always will be the option of a Simmons rep scheduling a face-to-face sales meeting with the dealer….but more about that later.)

Third, the program is a flexible, dynamic program that continues to change, evolve and improve in order to serve the needs of the smaller, more remote Simmons dealers. Simmons is always open to feedback and is always learning how to meet the needs of the smaller dealer, and the program has been fine-tuned and will continue to be refined. There is no sense of "we’ve got this completely right and it will remain as is forever". In fact Sharkey shared with this editor that the program is based on feedback, self-learning, and one can count on the program to be improved and somewhat different six months and a year out. For anyone questioning the evolving program Jim Sharkey notes that the original Centralized Dealer Service plan was to evolve, slowly, over a period of time. The call center model was so successful, responding to dealers’ requests via phone, e-mail and fax that it was quickly expanded. Dealer acceptance of this service model encouraged Simmons to increase the level of call center service, which has improved service and increased responsiveness.

For those not completely familiar with the Simmons Centralized Services program, it is new technology-based system providing a high level of retailer support.

The current plan offers dealers a toll-free call center with an inbound and outbound capability. By doing this Simmons has centralized information with a knowledgeable group of dealer-dedicated responders in one place promoting: a concentrated center of knowledge; an atmosphere that encourages exchange of knowledge; a phone source for incoming calls that allows the dealer to speak to a bedding representative, have that representative call them back and/or call in again and again and speak with the same person. This system increases knowledge, response and personalization of the dealer/rep relationship and it increases the service volume and better services the smaller or remote retailer. As noted by Jim Sharkey, if the need is real and a dealer requests a face-to-face meeting a Simmons rep. can be sent to retailer.