b'DIGITAL STRATEGIESmainly Indigenous women, moms andlong-term efficiencies so certain issuesship products worldwide as everybody kokums (grandmothers).dont come up over and over again. Then,else. Thats our strategy right now: to we can focus on our mission instead ofgrow and hone our logistics expertise, Like Nuez Acres, Indigenous Box bene- managing the day-to-day. our offering to our suppliers, and how fited from a move to the e-commerce plat- we can grow in parallel through logistics.form Shopify. Shopify has allowed us toAs they grow their own logistics expertise, profile all the people that we work withthey are keen to share their knowledgeThere are so many people within our and to bring in corporate clients. We nowwith other Indigenous businesses. Weown communities that can help us grow, serve over 400 corporate clients acrosswould love to be a concierge program sosays Yawnghwe. At the end of the day, Canada with over 400 suppliers acrossthat Indigenous entrepreneurs can get the North America, says Yawnghwe. Thatssame rates that we do, Yawnghwe says.were a supply chain. Were reestab-a lot of vendor management, customerWe capitalize on that to optimize our ship- lishing what I call the original supply and corporate relationship management,ping costs and ensure our products get tochain. Indigenous peoples are the archi-and portfolio relationship management.our customers in time. Independent arti- tects of the modern-day supply chain, Shopify has given us the tools to meetsans should have the same opportunity toand we cant forget that.those customers and corporations where theyre at and fulfil their needs when they need it.HYBRID BUSINESSWhere most retail is either in-person or online, Indigenous Box now merges the two with a QR-based hybrid retail storeAs a proud member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, TARA is at Edmonton International Airport. Itsfocused on furthering the promotion of local Indigenous businesses through Indigenous artisans in a beautiful spacestrategic partnerships and providing support within these communities. that Reimagined Architects built for us, inTARA strives to provide meaningful employment to members of the partnership with the airport. We are thecommunity in both Fort St. John and Grande Prairie regions, as well as the retail partners, says Yawnghwe. Travellerslocal Indigenous communities. We are actively working with these Nations can see the display and look at the storiesto provide opportunities and long-term careers to driven individuals, while behind the products. They scan a code, wepaving a greener path forward for our clients and our community. get the order in our warehouse (which isTARAs advanced fleet, best-in-class safety, and innovative approach to just beside the airport), then we ship to 27environmental standards has kept British Columbia producers executing different countries. Its e-commerce but itsfaster, more efficiently, and more responsibly.still retail, which is super fun! Last year alone, we had 250+ team members completing more than 230,000 hours of work in BC for several amazing clients. In addition to this, all Thishybridstoreplustheirpurelyequipment is built and certified to an international standard, while the e-commerce revenue stream requirescompany itself has invested heavily in implementing and improving industry plenty of app integrations on the companystandards relating to safety and environmental requirements. website, facilitating the hybrid store orders,Our Canadian operating hubs in Grande Prairie and Fort St. John are allowing customers to put a custom notefrequently searching for suitable candidates to help continue to grow into a gift box, and allowing them to handleour team. We are always looking for service technicians, shop assistants, shipping, customs clearance and Canadianoperators, truck drivers, and more. If youre ready to be a part of the Border Services Agency (CBSA) require- team, send your resume with your intended position in the subject line to ments. All this works well with their socialcareers@taraenergyservices.com.media strategy. Some people call us the Indigenous Amazon because we ship so many products through our website. We do a lot of international shipping, and we have big customers in New Zealand. How did they hear about us? Social media!Indigenous Box is currently managing so many new orders, corporate part-ners and suppliers, that they are consid-ering launching their own full enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which would allow them to automate and manage their core business processes. At what point do we outgrow Shopify functions and build our own? wonders Yawnghwe. We need a system that can support our current needs and improve Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 53'