Native American Business Alliance
New Corporate Member

Federal-Mogul is a leading global automotive supplier offering a comprehensive portfolio of quality products and trusted brands. Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, the company employs nearly 45,000 people in 30 countries. The company posted sales in 2004 of $6.2 billion. Federal-Mogul’s customers include many of the world’s foremost original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and industrial products, and aftermarket retailers and wholesalers. Federal-Mogul is committed to developing a diverse supply base and is on track to achieve an aggressive goal of 6 percent in 2005, compared to 2 percent in 2003.

Corporate membership with NABA is not an easy commitment for management to make. Budgets are tight all over and every expense needs to show a return on investment. What does the organization do? What will it do for us? How will it help our business be more successful? How much time and money will we be expected to give? And even though I personally have been committed to the goal and mission of NABA for several years, this was new territory for Federal-Mogul. I’m not sure I was able to answer all of the questions above but I must have explained the value proposition well enough because my manager said “yes.”

To me, the value in belonging to NABA is not just the exposure to Native-owned businesses, it is more involved than that. NABA, more than any other advocacy organization with which I’ve been involved, provides deeper linkages based on personal relationships. The trust and confidence one develops with another individual can then grow into successful business transactions. The emphasis on culture in every NABA event allows us -- the sponsors, corporate members and Native entrepreneurs -- to connect as “people who want to do business together,” not just as “business people.”

I attended the NABA conference in Orlando this past April with a co-worker who was new to the NABA experience. I had the chance to renew old acquaintances and make several new ones. My co-worker found the NABA conference to be unlike any others. She had the time and opportunity to sit down face-to-face and learn not only about the business but about the person as well. We both realized that even though the number of conference attendees was smaller than other national events, the number of quality contacts we brought back to Federal-Mogul was at least the same if not more. The conference is also a great opportunity to strengthen relationships with corporate sponsors and supplier diversity professionals. We shared best practices, traded names of capable suppliers and talked about new ways to work together to create more opportunities for the Native businesses.

I intend to utilize the NABA membership this year to increase the number of capable, competitive, Native-owned businesses in our supply base. Federal-Mogul is setting some very aggressive supplier diversity targets and I’m counting on NABA’s help to achieve them and, in doing so, I can establish a sustainable value proposition for a long partnership.

 

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