SSCS Was There: The 2016 WOMA Conference

Events like this help us stay abreast of the industry’s heartbeat making them a prerequisite for our company’s success.

Last week SSCS attended the Washington Oil Marketers Association (WOMA) Conference and hosted a booth in their intimate trade show. Our Washington State rep lived less than two hours away, so he knew full well that a trip to the conference would take him to the Suncadia Resort where he would be surrounded by the beauty of Washington’s Cascade Mountains.

Though compelling, this breathtaking backdrop was only a minor justification for attending the conference. Supporting WOMA by sponsoring a booth topped the list as it was a tangible way of showing support for the WOMA, one of seven state associations that come together under the umbrella of the larger Western Petroleum Marketing Association (WPMA).

These organizations—on behalf of their petroleum wholesaler/distributor members—lobby state legislatures, provide representation before state government agencies, make membership services available, and manage state conventions just like the one we attended. Their efforts strengthen the industry, and that’s good for everybody. The conference agenda reflected WOMA’s mission, as it was filled with speakers who shared their expertise on topics of use to the small businesses that make up this unique trade.

If you’re wondering what we were doing at a petroleum wholesalers show when our Computerized Daily Book back office system is widely used by petroleum retailers, it’s good to remember that these two industries are not far, if at all, removed from each other. In some cases they use the same vendors, for example, point-of-sale suppliers like the ones in attendance at the show. More to the point, fuel marketers often own their own gas stations with convenience stores, an obvious and natural fit for the solutions we provide.

So while there isn’t a lot of walk up traffic at a show like this, these events provide an excellent chance for our rep to network and get our name circulated and top of mind with key industry partners. Several receptions, a dinner, and a golf tournament facilitate this productive interaction.

In addition, since our representative is long-tenured with SSCS and, in the process, has built many strong industry relationships within his state, this show provides him a great opportunity to reconnect with the professionals he has come to know over the years. That they often turn out to be fruitful sources of referrals is the icing on the cake.

We’re thankful we got to be a part of the WOMA Conference. It helps us stay abreast of the industry’s regional heartbeat which is a prerequisite for success in any day and age.

By the way, our Washington rep plays a mean harmonica and can sing a bit, too, so you might want to check out his composition, “The Margin Erosion Blues,” on our YouTube channel.

Special thanks to WOMA’s State Executive Lea Wilson for helping us put this together on short notice.