I'm looking for some advice with something that seems simple but I haven't done before.

Currently we use a distribution group called Orders that has an email address that is that forwarded to four people in the company, the same goes for another one, Quotes. The problem is, of course, no one knows what was answered, and all the email gets worked in to the individual user's emails, so I'm thinking that a public folder, only accessible by one department would be the answer.

I'm not sure what the best way to set this up would be or how to move/convert the current distribution list over to a public folder. This is a very critical email address in the company, so I'm trying to be sure that there is zero down time at all for it.

What would be the best way to go about creating a public folder and converting/forwarding/moving/(whatever) over the current email address to that folder?