Benefits of Membership
What We Do
Buying Club
The Tribal Business League (TBL) is a first and foremost a buying club operating on behalf of the member tribes within the Tribal Business League. The member tribes leverage the power of volume to negotiate unbeatable pricing on goods and services, software, technology, equipment and supplies. The potential doesn't stop at retail and enterprise purchasing, we have the capabilities to move into cleaning supplies, office supplies, leasing, real estate, the sky is the limit. If we identify a need among the member tribes, we can procure it.
Group Purchasing Savings
Between October 2019, and October 2020 we helped keep $800,000+ in our tribal communities by providing the best pricing in the state of Wisconsin for convenience stores goods and services. These items include, but are not limited to; fuel, snacks, chips, cigarettes, tobacco, soft drinks, payment processing, and light grocery items.
Enhanced Profit Margins
Through our private label product program, Tribal First Products, our member tribes were able to enjoy 200%+ profit margins in comparison to similar products. Tribal First includes; Traditional Pizza, Artisan Pizza, Garlic Toast, Beef Jerky, Snack Sticks, and Bottled Water. We have more lines of products coming with the Tribal First brand and "Buy Native" tag on each product.
Exclusive Product Agreements
The Tribal Business League has an exclusive deal with Seneca Tobacco Products. Seneca is a Native-owned and operated tobacco manufacturing company and is currently distributed to all Tribal Business League member businesses. Seneca offers a high quality tobacco product at an exceptionally lower price tag than national brand tobacco products.
Tribal Consulting Team
In addition to buying club benefits, we also have a 3-person consulting team to negotiate deals and develop relationships to benefit the member tribes of the TBL. We take the headache out of procurement and vendor relations by bringing the best possible deals to the table and the most fruitful relationships to our tribal communities. Every tribes has considered buying in bulk, warehousing and storing mass amounts of products to obtain the best possible pricing point. Those days are no more. Now, we utilize the power of volume, each tribe purchases millions each year in goods and services to be delivered to the membership and general public. Now, each tribe can purchase those goods with zero investment, zero warehousing fees, zero storage costs, and no long-term contracts.
Monthly Meetings
Each month we conduct a membership meeting at one of our member tribe locations, each tribe gets to host and chair the meeting. Each meeting is themed around a particular challenge each one of our tribes may be experiencing at that point in time. These themes can include customer service training, merchandising, product pricing and matching, inventory, marketing and promotions, technology training, or facilities and maintenance to name a few. Every topic is handled thoroughly and we exchange policies, procedures, best practices, along with handbooks and training documents to help each member tribe achieve the best possible level of business success they can achieve.
Economic Development
Every tribe is seeking avenues to expand upon their economic development efforts and diversify their economic profile. This is the first step in generating unrestricted revenue from the enterprises which can go back into the tribal economy to support employment opportunities, scholarships, support social service programs, or develop brand new enterprise.
Employee Training Programs
The Tribal Business League has partnered with LCO College to provide exclusive training programs to member enterprises. These programs range from customer service training, cashier training, B and C Operator certification training for fuel stations and convenience stores, as well as marketing and financial management programs. The goal is to equip tribal enterprise employees with the latest and greatest in technology, training methodologies, and current trends in relevant topics to ensure tribal enterprise is increasing revenue, reducing overall costs of goods sold, and operating as efficiently as possible.
Experience and Competence
The Tribal Business League members have a combined 150+ years of experience in Retail Management from tenures with Piggly Wiggly, Holiday and Kwik Trip, Economic Development with C-level executives from various tribal and county economic development boards. Sales and Marketing experience from corporate sales and channel development. We have individuals with 25+ years of experience in the facilities and operations from buildings and grounds to infrastructure development of casinos and government buildings. The TBL has individuals with 12+ years of tribal government experience sitting on tribal governing boards. Every single meeting includes a collaboration of 150+ years of experience troubleshooting and navigating every challenge we experience as a whole.
Independent Tribal-Member Owned Business Supports
The Tribal Business League is preparing to launch an Independent Tribal-Member Owned Support Program. There are hundreds of tribal employees that could benefit from the advantages, benefits and features the Tribal Business League can offer. We aim to empower tribal entrepreneurs to tap into the buying power we possess, and ensure retail locations, ecommerce, service providers, and government contractors are as successful as they can possibly be.