Bob West to lead new FMC Customer Engagement Center

FMC announces that veteran Agricultural Solutions business and strategic accounts lead Bob West will head the company’s new Customer Engagement Center (CEC). The Center has been established to develop, foster and support customer interactions and growth of the FMC agricultural business. West has been named associate director of the CEC and will report directly to Amy O’Shea, FMC vice president and business director for Agricultural Solutions, North America.

O’Shea expects the CEC will give FMC a unique advantage as it continues to grow and distinguish its role as the largest pure play crop protection company in the industry.

“As our business strives to grow in a highly competitive market, we will need to differentiate ourselves to maximize our opportunities for success,” O’Shea said. “The CEC gives us a leg up and having Bob, who knows our industry, partners and customers inside and out, lead this Center is going to enhance the value and expertise we provide our retailers and distributors.”

West and his team have been tasked with improving the overall customer experience through initiatives designed to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention and growth. He will be responsible for developing the CEC’s strategy, building ongoing business relationships and providing overall leadership for the CEC.

The first step in the process of enhancing the FMC customer experience will be increasing the level of communication to partners, according to West. This includes providing FMC retailers and distributors with supplemental support in creating customer demand, insights on the value of FMC products and offerings and answers to customers’ agronomic and crop protection questions.

“Ultimately, we want FMC to be top of mind when someone asks them who they enjoy doing business with, who is more concerned about their needs and who helps make them more successful,” West explained. “This is an opportunity to increase communications and touch points from FMC with our channel customers. This open line of communication will allow us to gain a better understanding of our customers’ goals and needs so that we continue to create programs and products that are beneficial to their growers.”

The addition of the CEC will not alter the go-to-market strategy FMC has in place, but will complement the company’s “Distributor Aligned, Retail Focused” channel strategy, O’Shea said. The investment in customer experience is part of the FMC growth plan and commitment to value-added offerings.
“We want our customers, at all levels, to feel that working with FMC is the most positive relationship they have with their suppliers. Our current team does a fantastic job of doing this every day, and we want to challenge ourselves to take customer experience to the next level,” O’Shea stated.

During his long career with FMC, West has held a variety of roles in the North America Agricultural Solutions business including sales representative, product manager, area business leader, Western region business manager as well as positions in the Global Specialty Solutions business where he was the national structural solutions manager. West is a graduate of Rutgers University.