If you work in procurement for a Tribe, a tribal health clinic, a housing authority, or a tribally owned enterprise, you have probably asked the same question we hear every week: is there a faster way to get fair pricing without running a full bid every time.

That is exactly why Native Purchasing Group was created. We are a 100% Native-owned group purchasing organization built only for Indian Country. No membership fees. No complicated contracts. Just pre-negotiated pricing you can use on day one.

This guide walks you through what a tribal GPO is, who can join, and the exact four steps to get started with us. If you read this, you will have every answer you need before you even fill out the form.

You can learn more about our mission on our homepage, and see the visual breakdown on our how it works page.

Business partner meeting

What a Tribal GPO Actually Does

A group purchasing organization, or GPO, pools the buying power of Tribal organizations throughout the United States to negotiate better pricing from vendors.

In healthcare, GPOs have been standard for decades. In tribal government, it is newer. Most Tribes buy alone. That means you negotiate as one entity against a national supplier. Prices vary, terms vary, and your team spends weeks on paperwork.

A tribal GPO changes the math. We bring together a growing membership of nearly 300 Tribes and tribally owned entities. Vendors give us one national price because the volume is real. You get that price by using your member number. You order direct from the vendor. The vendor ships direct to you.

Native Purchasing Group does not sell you anything. We do not hold inventory. We negotiate the contract, maintain compliance, and make sure the pricing stays competitive.

Why Native Purchasing Group Is Different

There are national GPOs, yet NONE were built for Tribes.

We are different in three ways:

  1. We serve Tribal organizations exclusively. That is written into how we operate. We understand sovereign status, Buy Indian preferences, Indian Economic Enterprise requirements, and the reality of remote delivery.
  2. We are Native owned and led. Our founder and CEO, Jeff St. Louis, is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa. Our team has worked inside tribal health, tribal construction, and tribal administration.
  3. Membership is free. Always. Vendors pay a small administrative fee when you purchase. That funds our work. You never get an invoice from us.

We currently provide access to more than 3,400 vendors and about 4 million products across construction, fleet, food service, healthcare, office and IT, Facilities, public safety, infrastructure,  school supplies and much more!

Who Can Join

If you are part of Indian Country, you are eligible. That includes:

  • Federally recognized Tribal governments
  • Tribal departments and programs
  • Indian Health Service, 638, and tribally operated health clinics
  • Tribal housing authorities and TDHEs
  • Tribally owned casinos, hotels, and enterprises
  • Tribal schools, colleges, and early childhood programs
  • Alaska Native villages and corporations
  • Native Hawaiian organizations
  • Any Native/Tribal Affiliated organization

If you are not sure, contact us with your tribal affiliation. We will confirm in one business day.

The 4 Steps to Join Native Purchasing Group

We designed this to take less than 10 minutes of your time. No board resolution required. No procurement policy change needed.

Step 1: Tell Us Who You Are

Go to our membership form. You will provide:

  • Your Tribe or organization name
  • Your department
  • Your name, title, email, and phone
  • Shipping locations

That is it. We do not ask for financial statements, tax IDs, or purchase history. We verify tribal status internally.

Most people complete this in three to four minutes. If you prefer to talk first, call the number on our contact page. We will fill it out with you.

Common question: do I need approval from the council. Usually no. You are not signing a purchasing commitment. You are gaining access to voluntary contracts, just like a state cooperative. Many procurement policies already allow cooperative purchasing.

Step 2: We Activate Your Membership

Within one business day, our team reviews your information and activates your account. You will receive two emails:

  1. Welcome email with your NPG member number
  2. Access email with login instructions for our supplier portal

Your member number is the key. Vendors recognize it and apply the correct tier pricing automatically.

We also assign you a dedicated account manager. That person knows your region and your categories. If you buy medical supplies in Arizona or construction materials in Oklahoma, you get someone who understands freight, lead times, and local vendors.

There is no cost at this step. There is no minimum purchase. You can activate and use it six months later if you want.

Step 3: Connect to the Vendors You Need

This is where savings start. You have two ways to buy:

Option A: Use your existing vendor. Many of our contracts are with national distributors you already use for office supplies, janitorial, or med-surg. Give them your NPG number. They flip your account to contract pricing on the next order. No new account setup.

Option B: Open a new contract supplier. In the portal, you will see the full list by category. Click healthcare, food, fleet, etc. You will see the contracted supplier, the core list, and the direct rep. Click the request account. The rep reaches out within 24 to 48 hours.

We recommend starting with two or three categories where spend is high and bidding is painful. For most Tribes that is:

  • Medical and pharmaceuticals
  • Office supplies and IT
  • Food service and kitchen
  • Janitorial and facilities
  • Fleet parts and tires

Your account manager will send a simple price comparison if you want proof before switching. Send us your last invoice. We show side by side savings in plain dollars.

Step 4: Start Ordering and Track Savings

Once your number is active, you order exactly like before. PO to vendor, vendor ships, you receive. The only difference is the price.

If pricing ever looks off, email your rep. We audit contracts monthly. If a vendor raises prices due to tariffs or freight, we renegotiate or add an alternate. In 2025 and 2026, with tariff pressure on overseas  medical private labels and imported food, this monitoring has saved members from double digit increases.

You can read more real examples on our blog.

What Happens After You Join

Day 1 to 7: you get logins, you connect one or two vendors, you place a test order.

Day 30: you see first savings on office or janitorial. Most members see 12 to 18 percent immediately in those categories.

Day 90: you expand to healthcare or food. That is where the bigger numbers are. Our members typically save 10 to 25 percent on medical supplies and up to 20 percent on broadline food service, depending on volume and region.

Year 1: you reduce the number of bids you run. Instead of three bids for every purchase over your threshold, you reference the contract. Your team gets time back. Your council gets cleaner audits.

Common Questions We Get

Is this really free?

Yes. We have never charged a Tribe a membership fee. Vendors fund the GPO through an administrative fee built into the contract price. You still pay less than you would negotiating alone.

How is this different from 8(a) or Buy Indian?

8(a) and Buy Indian are set aside programs. A GPO is a pricing tool. You can use both. Many tribally owned 8(a) firms are actually vendors in our network.

Do we have to buy a certain amount?

No minimums. No volume commitments. Use it when it helps.

Will this work with our procurement policy? 

Most tribal policies allow cooperative purchasing. Language usually says you may use contracts competitively solicited by another governmental entity or cooperative. Our contracts are competitively solicited and meet federal standards.

What if we already have a GPO for healthcare?

You can be in more than one. We often beat national healthcare GPOs on med-surg for tribal clinics because our tier is built only for Indian Country volume.

Is our data shared?

No. Your purchase data stays between you and the vendor. We see aggregate spend for reporting, not line item patient or member data.

Do you cover Alaska and Hawaii?

Yes. We have freight-capped contracts for Alaska villages and barge-friendly suppliers for Hawaii.

Why This Model Works for Tribes

When we started Native Purchasing Group, we kept hearing the same story. A  procurement team that are sometimes responsible for everything from clinic gloves to road grader parts. They run a bid, get three quotes, pick the lowest, and six months later prices jump. No matter the size of your procurement team, we found this to be a recurring theme. 

A GPO stops that cycle. The bid is already done. The pricing is locked for the contract term. The compliance paperwork is already on file.

Because we only serve Tribes, vendors do not blend your volume with cities or counties. Your volume counts as Indian Country volume. That gives us leverage to ask for Native-specific terms like extended dating for grant cycles, rural delivery guarantees, and Buy Indian subcontracting.

Ready to Start

Joining takes less time than running one bid. If you have your organization name and email ready, you are set.

Here is the fastest path:

  1. Go to how it works to see the diagram
  2. Fill out the short form or email us via contact us
  3. Get your member number and start with office supplies or medical

If you want a quick price check first, send us one recent invoice. We will show you the NPG price for the same items. No obligation.

We built Native Purchasing Group because Tribes deserve the same buying power as large health systems and national retailers. The contracts are ready. The vendors are ready. All that is left is your member number.

Join today, and put your procurement team back in control of time, budget, and service to your community.