July 22, 2024
This paid piece is sponsored by Interstate Office Products.
What is it like to be ranked among the industry’s best in North America?
As one of only two Steelcase Premier Partner dealers on the continent to receive this industry award since its inception, Interstate Office Products knows.
Every year at IOP starts with the same conversation: What will it take to rank among the very top-performing commercial furniture dealerships in the nation?
That’s the expectation for the furniture dealership — and it’s one IOP has met every year for the past 12, ever since the top honor has been awarded by Steelcase, a global manufacturer of furniture, case goods, seating, storage and workstations for offices, health care systems and education facilities.
Premier Partner awards line the wall at Interstate Office Products. A plaque near it reads: “Good partnership is an art form. As a recognized Steelcase Premier Partner, Interstate Office Products stands out as a truly exemplary dealer, displaying leadership and dedication while delivering exceptional value to their customers and community.”
“It truly does take every single person in the organization,” IOP president and CEO Sheila Casiello said. “Every single department contributes to earning Premier Partner status. Through dedicated leadership, exceptional value and outstanding customer service, we commit to getting it done.”
Steelcase Premier Partners are among the very top performing dealerships that provide Steelcase office furnishings. The status is awarded based on achieving market leadership, positively impacting the community, high customer-satisfaction scores, co-branding with Steelcase and financial fitness.
Dealers must excel in 12 areas to meet the highest categories of award.
“IOP consistently performs near the top in meeting our criteria,” said Pamela Woodward, vice president of channel development for Steelcase.
“They have a long tenure of success, and we are extremely proud that they represent Steelcase across the Sioux Falls market. They focus on doing the right thing for their customers, their employees and the community, and it shows in everything they do. They are also an active member of our dealer community and recognize the benefits to everyone of nurturing a strong partnership with Steelcase and their peers across the country.”
“When I think of IOP, I think of a very well-run family business,” added Mark Harrison, a client business manager with Steelcase who has worked with IOP for nearly two decades.
“They’re very capable, and they challenge their customers to think differently about their space. And then on the execution side of things, they are incredible — exemplary in the eyes of Steelcase.”
Earning the Steelcase Premier Partner designation is “extremely difficult,” Harrison said. “There are 450 dealers in the Americas, and a very small percentage get this award. It’s unheard of to win it every year like IOP does, and I will tell you other dealers are extremely envious of them and want to know what they do and how they do it. We have very large dealers with massive staffs, and they’re just shocked.”
At IOP, this level of service takes a lot of forms.
It’s staying overnight for days during a blizzard to ensure furniture is installed on time for a hospital.
It’s setting up an entire temporary office inside a manufacturing facility to meet a fast-growing business’ timeline while construction wraps up on a permanent space.
It’s adjusting timelines, finding ways to source and store furniture when needed, and phasing all of it in such a way that the furniture is nearly always ready when the client is ready for it.
“We do what we say we’re going to do,” Casiello said. “We are constantly adjusting, and we’re very creative problem-solvers.”
It all adds up to continued growth in market share and longtime relationships. IOP is coming off “a fantastic year” in 2023, and “2024 is shaping up to be our best year ever,” Casiello said.
The Sioux Falls area “is a very hot market for us,” Harrison said. “And I think they see the value in what Steelcase has done through research and insight and then applied through innovation in developing our products. The market has really responded to it. It’s not about providing a commodity like office furniture. It’s about applying the research to thoughtful planning of the spaces with furniture, architecture and technology products – that’s the secret sauce.”
The collaboration with Steelcase is key, Casiello said. In addition to the signature Steelcase line, the company has 30 brand partners in the Steelcase family – names like Coalesse, West Elm, Tom Dixon, Orangebox, Bolia and Viccarbe.
Other partnerships with big names such as Microsoft help integrate technology into the furnishings.
“This gives us so many options to present to clients and allows us to hone in on the best solutions for them,” Casiello said. “We are able to offer an excellent warranty from Steelcase, but they also have the lowest need in the industry by far for warranty replacements because the product is built incredibly well.”
The nationwide network created by Steelcase also allows for seamless installation in other markets where “we know it’s going to be a quality experience for our clients, nearly like we were installing it ourselves,” Casiello said.
“We have our new interior designers and account managers complete a weeklong training at their headquarters in Michigan, and they learn everything from complete product trainings to hands-on installations.”
IOP and Steelcase also collaborate on client work to ensure the most current research and insight is available as customers consider projects – and to coordinate on timelines to achieve on-time delivery nearly 100 percent of the time.
“There is no cookie-cutter approach here. Every day is different, and there’s never a standard answer, and Steelcase gives us the tools we need to deliver for our clients in new and innovative ways,” Casiello said. “We are not the place to work if every day needs to be the same because it’s not about what we did yesterday. It’s about what we get to do tomorrow.”
At IOP, the team’s longevity “is incredible,” Harrison said. “You don’t see that in other dealers. Plus, their ability to recruit and hire fresh talent is another thing that makes dealers across the country wonder how they do it. I wish I could have an IOP in every market that I cover. They are that incredible.”
To learn more about how IOP can support your workplace vision, visit i-o-p.com, or call 605-339-0300.
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