In the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers rejoice in their consolidation of talent by proclaiming, "All for one and one for all."

Such could be the rallying cry for Deere's Agricultural Marketing Division these days as it begins to consolidate more than 250 talented employees into a new North American Ag Marketing Center in suburban Kansas City. As a result of the consolidation -- scheduled for completion by next autumn -- the division believes its branches and dealers will be able to access information about products more quickly and concentrate on serving Deer's customers more intently.

Says Bud Porter, senior vice president of North America agricultural marketing, "Some people hear the word 'consolidation', and fear a company is moving further away from its customers. But this consolidation frees the branches to spend more time listening to their customers. That, plus our addition of a seventh branch in Reno, Nevada, shows we remain committed to being close to the division's customers."

Located in the Southlake Technology Park in Lenexa, Kansas, the new center houses representatives of the division's training, accounting, market research, advertising, human resources, credit management, marketing service and settlement auditing departments. Porter says one important benefit of merging this talent from branches across North America is more streamlined communications.

"In the past, dealers with questions about parts, or customer accounts, had to call someone at the branch, who then had to call either Deere, or the factory, to get the answer," he says. "But we've equipped this new center with a call-management system that will enable dealers to call our complete goods, settlement auditing, or aftermarket groups directly. Now, we expect to answer dealer questions during their first inquiries more than 80 percent off the time.

"By reducing handoffs in communication, we reduce errors and delays," Porter adds. "That's key, since our research has told us dealers don't care who they call, so long as that person gives them accurate and timely information."