Ryan Hutchison is the Integrated Solutions Manger for South Country Equipment in Saskatchewan. He traveled far from home last week to be in Kansas City, Missouri for the Develop with Deere event that brought together dealers, software developers, and Operations Center team members. When asked by Chuck Zimmerman if the conference was worth it, Hutchison responded, “Absolutely!”

Hutchison says the conference is doing great things because it’s bringing together other dealers, allowing him to network and see what they’re thinking. Dealers get good ideas from each other, he said, and they also share stories about working with companies, or ask questions he wouldn’t have thought of. It’s good to see the growth the formal invitation from John Deere created.

Hutchison also reports he thinks the dialog going on is an important part of making the event successful. “One of the things I think we’re seeing in this group of John Deere people is, and I mean they’re all professional in what they do everyday, but I think this is a tighter knit group all trying to seek the same end goal, and maybe some more frank conversations than I would have expected about what the Operations Center should or shouldn’t do and why,” he says.

This focus on using the Operations Center, training dealers on one platform, and asking for feedback is why Hutchison says he’ll not only be back, he may bring another staff member with him.

Listen to Hutchison’s full interview here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/jd-develop-16-hutchison.mp3″ text=”Ryan Hutchison, South Country Equipment”]

Photos from this year’s conference can be found here: Develop with Deere Photo Album