The Small, But Mighty, Micro-fulfillment Center

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.

One trend emerging at the center of food retail store design is the Micro-Fulfillment Center (MFC), a new automation in the food retail industry. Although small, as the name implies, these warehouses are well equipped to autonomously fulfill online orders – fast and efficiently. Micro-fulfilment offers an end-to-end solution plugging into any grocery store’s already existing network and making ecommerce profitable.

By: Carol Abel, Vice President, Education Program Development, Food Marketing Institute <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/technology-images---give-photo-credit/spartannash/family-fare_fast-lane_scanning.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=c47e4a6e_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Family Fare_Fast Lane_Scanning" title="Family Fare_Fast Lane_Scanning" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /> One trend emerging at the center of food retail store design is the Micro-Fulfillment Center (MFC), a new automation in the food retail industry. Although small, as the name implies, these warehouses are well equipped to autonomously fulfill online orders – fast and efficiently. Micro-fulfillment offers an end-to-end solution plugging into any grocery store’s already existing network and making ecommerce profitable. I was lucky to get a first-hand look at how micro-fulfillment works at Sedano’s supermarket in Miami, FL, partnering with <a href="https://www.takeoff.com/">Takeoff Technologies, Inc.</a>, one of the first companies to jump on the micro-fulfillment bandwagon. During my visit, I got a better understanding of micro-fulfillment’s importance in food retail from Curt Avallone, chief business officer of <a href="https://www.takeoff.com/">Takeoff Technologies, Inc.</a> Here’s a bit of what I learned from Avallone. We will be covering all you need to know about micro-fulfilment at the <a href="https://www.fmi.org/energy-and-store-development-conference">2019 FMI Energy & Store Development Conference</a>, September 8-11, 2019 in Dallas, TX. <h5>From the 30,000-Foot Level, What Is Micro-Fulfillment?</h5> Avallone: “Micro-fulfillment is miniaturized, automated fulfillment. An MFC is a micro-automated warehouse that is compact enough to place almost anywhere. The size of a micro-fulfillment center gives retailers several key advantages: <ul> <li>It can be placed “hyperlocally,” on the store level, meaning it is close enough to where shoppers live that it dramatically reduces the last-mile delivery cost. </li> <li>Furthermore, the MFC is a significantly lower investment than a large automated warehouse.</li> </ul> These two benefits give retailers the flexibility to make more targeted and strategic decisions about where they believe automated ecommerce fulfillment will be most successful.”  <h5>How Will Micro-Fulfillment Centers Change the Food Retail Landscape?</h5> Avallone: “When Clarence Saunders opened his grocery chain, Piggly Wiggly, in 1916 he launched what is now known as the self-service revolution. He placed goods on a shelf, inviting customers to hold items in their hands, and examine labels, inside brightly lit, attractive stores. He united fulfillment and marketing. Micro-fulfillment, and ecommerce as a whole, stands to break marketing and fulfillment apart. The store is migrating online, meaning marketing can be fully digital -- a retail store can now fit into a shopper’s hands. Micro-fulfillment has the capacity to make ecommerce accessible to a broader range of retailers because it cuts down major costs: <ul> <li>The cost of picking (through automation).</li> <li>The cost of the last mile (through hyperlocal placement).</li> <li>The cost of real estate (through condensing fulfillment centers down into MFCs).</li> </ul> For the grocery industry, where products are difficult to manage and the margins are slim, this has the capacity to shift the entire landscape.” <h5>What Are the Implications of Ecommerce Growth in Food Retail for Real Estate Development Over the Next Decade? </h5> Avallone: “Stores are currently very oversized and are a huge investment for retailers. Micro-fulfillment is a great opportunity for retailers to optimize store space by stacking goods strategically, taking advantage of vertical space, and using robots to retrieve items. An MFC typically takes up only a third of a supermarket’s space, meaning there are huge possibilities for grocers to optimize and even potentially shrink down the size of their stores.” Micro-fulfillment will be a significant factor in the transformation of the store format and network. Join us at the <a href="https://www.fmi.org/energy-and-store-development-conference">2019 FMI Energy & Store Development Conference</a> to learn and discuss more. Photo Credit: SpartanNash

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.