The Promise of Artificial Intelligence for Food Retail

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

who frontpage

member frontpage

Join a Community that Champions, Connects, and Elevates!

Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

At the recent Annual Meat Conference in Dallas, a roomful of attendees were baffled by what sounded like a simple question: “How often do you interact with artificial intelligence?” The fact is that, increasingly, in our everyday lives we encounter artificial intelligence (AI) tools and don’t even know it.

By: Rick Stein, Vice President, Fresh, Industry Relations, Food Marketing Institute <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/check-out/20171205-fmi-store-shoot-1061_ed.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=14cf786e_2" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="20171205-FMI-Store Shoot-1061_ed" title="20171205-FMI-Store Shoot-1061_ed" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /> At the recent <a href="https://meatconference.com/">Annual Meat Conference</a> in Dallas, a roomful of attendees were baffled by what sounded like a simple question: “How often do you interact with artificial intelligence?” The possible answers ranged from “rarely” to “all the time” to “How would I know?” The fact is that, increasingly, in our everyday lives we encounter artificial intelligence (AI) tools and don’t even know it. Ever had the GPS mapping app on your phone suggest an alternate route because of a traffic jam ahead? Have you ever pulled up the Netflix app on your TV without any idea of what you’d like to watch, knowing it will offer several suggestions you’ll probably enjoy? AI is alive and at work in your personal life, and food retail is beginning to find its functions useful too, even if you don’t know it yet. AI is the natural evolution of robotics, a technology developed in great part to benefit the automotive industry that quickly found its way to other industries. In food retail, the expanding use of AI means everybody along the supply chain can analyze larger amounts of data to more closely track and master the wily laws of supply and demand. Danny Lin, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, spoke in the <a href="https://meatconference.com/program">2019 Annual Meat Conference</a> session, “AI in the Food Chain: How Companies Are Using Disruptive Technology to Win in the Meat Aisle,” and shared the five simple ingredients involved in AI and how they are benefiting or will benefit food retail. <ul> <li>Machine learning—the ability to employ statistical models without the need to follow explicitly programmed instructions, has set the stage for dynamic pricing, which retailers can use to adapt to the shifting marketplace instantaneously.</li> <li>Computer vision—the automatic understanding and engagement with images and videos has led to the autonomous check-out some retailers have begun to incorporate.</li> <li>Expert systems—artificial agents that leverage pre-programmed expert knowledge to make decisions, give us “smart” refrigerators and retail floor sensors.</li> <li>Physical and software robotics—is the science of designing, operating and using robots to solve human problems. That’s why we now have robotic beef rib cutters, for instance, and robotic store audits.</li> <li>Natural language processing and generation—provides us with automatic extraction, analysis and generation of human language; the Amazon Echo; and eventually the daydreams of entrepreneurs looking for its function in the food retail store.</li> </ul> Where could all this potential in AI take food retail? The development of AI means that human touch can be applied where it can be of greatest benefit: in face-to-face engagement with customers as you work to give them what they want. You may also find these articles of interest: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2018/12/11/the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-in-food-retail">The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Food Retail</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2018/11/07/grocers-get-ready-for-artificial-intelligence-based-transformation">Grocers, Get Ready for Artificial Intelligence-based Transformation </a></li> <li><a href="https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2018/08/01/ai-powers-the-customer-experience">AI Powers the Customer Experience</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.fmi.org/events-education/webinars/webinar-recordings/view/webinar-recordings-public/2018/03/22/ai-the-new-competitive-strategy">AI: The New Competitive Strategy</a></li> </ul>

Read full article on FMI

Menus

Some of the main menus of the template are now set via the template parameters saving you having to set up menu modules for each menu. From this section you can choose what menus you would like connected with these pre assigned menu areas of the template.

Copyright Information

Enter the copyright information that will appear in the footer area of your template.

Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.