Lambda Chi Alpha

The Challenge

Because Lambda Chi Alpha markets an intangible fraternity experience benefiting young men from college to retirement, they recognized how critical the customer experience is to their business. In turn, finding a strategic print partner that truly “understood and seamlessly aligned with their business” was essential to carrying out company mission and customer experience.

15 years ago, Fineline Printing Group became this strategic partner and has been delivering on these promises since. Lambda Chi Alpha’s Tad Lichtenauer joined as Director of Communications and IT in 2008, and in the past several years he has recognized two growing challenges:

The need to improve new member kits in both creative impact and delivery efficiency.
The need for an advanced solution to manage their retail operations. Their current system was a laborious and complicated process when it came to online storefront, ordering, payment processing, inventory and understanding metrics – all of which greatly impacted customer experience.

The Fineline Solution

Tad turned to a Fineline Senior Account Manager, to help solve these challenges.

First, they ideated on new member kits and how to more creatively and efficiently make the best first impression and deliver Lambda Chi Alpha’s mission. They considered new member demographics: males 18-22, in the “information age” of which demands innovation and quick delivery timelines. They then found the common denominator within this demographic – pizza.

The solution was a new member kit that looks like a pizza box, and includes a t-shirt, Fraternity education manual, and associate member pin.
This kit wowed newly joined members and checked all the boxes for Tad and Lambda Chi Alpha - providing an interactive experience, and great first impression. Not only that, Fineline helped to layout an effective delivery plan so new members receive their kit within days of joining the Lambda Chi Alpha family. Tad has since heard from other Greek organizations that nothing really like it has been done before.

Secondly, Fineline’s custom-built online storefront Finelink provided all the solutions for Lambda Chi Alpha’s retail store.

“In the past 18 months Finelink has been a total game-changer,”Tad said. This includes providing the following solutions:

Taking the process from a manual, people-managed process to an intuitive, automated online process

Making the user-experience an easy way to order and process items online

Automatically tracking inventory which saves overages, shortages and storage overhead

Automating distribution and shipping processes

Providing data-driven retail operations with Finelink’s reporting feature helps report out to CEO and board

Improving overall customer experience

Finelink has also helped to improve communication with Lambda Chi Alpha’s corporate and individual college campuses by providing a “one-stop-shop.”

The Outcome

Fineline Printing Group continues to partner and support Lambda Chi Alpha with at least 20-30 projects per year, as well as provide many creative solutions in furthering Lambda Chi Alpha’s mission and customer experience.

“What helps me the most is that I have the Fineline team, no matter how small or large the project is. They give me advice and counsel me through ideas and making the best decisions based on the initiative. We truly work in a collaborative partnership,”said Tad Director of Communications & IT at Lambda Chi Alpha. “On top of it all, I don’t have to explain my business to multiple companies when the Fineline team understands our needs, gives good advice and counsel and provides affordable options.”

About Lambda Chi Alpha:

Through our core values and ritualistic teachings, Lambda Chi Alpha aims to systematically develop our men by fundamentally shaping who they are, what they know, and what they can do. Our vision is to lead a co-curricular Greek movement, predicated on partnership and collaboration amongst the undergraduates, host institutions, alumni and General Fraternity, and offering an experience that focuses on the maturational development of today’s college man. Founded in 1909, Lambda Chi Alpha has nearly 200 chapters and colonies at universities and colleges across North America, with more than 275,000 initiated brothers. Since 1972, Lambda Chi Alpha has prided itself on having associate members, not pledges, creating equality for all our members. Upon accepting a bid, associate members have full and equal rights in the chapter, including voting privileges and the ability to hold office, attend all meetings and functions, and wear the letters and regalia of Lambda Chi Alpha.