Project Lead the Way

ProjectLead The Way (PLTW), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading provider of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs to improve the way teachers teach STEM to students. With their home office recently relocated in Indianapolis, PLTW delivers high-quality professional development and student testing programs to more than 5,000 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

PLTW has enjoyed explosive growth, adding schools, districts, and clients nationwide for their educational and promotional materials.

The Challenge

PLTW needed an online storefront from which schools, education professionals and corporate staff, nationwide, could order print on demand items such as stationery, business cards, sales flyers, forms, envelopes and banners.
PLTW also wanted to expand the scope of their online storefront to include branded apparel such as tee shirts, caps and golf shirts.
They needed a printing partner who could update their storefront to include print, apparel and custom orders in one site -- with proven experience in branding and marketing on line solutions to help take PLTW to the next level.
They needed a way to get sales collateral and support materials out to the field, quickly and dependably

The Fineline Solution

Fineline went to work developing an online storefront for printed materials that could also handle custom work. The storefront was permission-based and included new data-based software that tracked items ordered and provided sales and delivery metrics with the click of a button.

With the new ability to track data, PLTW was able to see which items were best sellers and add to popular item types. PLTW market share and product lines began a year of explosive growth. The online store easily handled the growth, and PLTW was ready to expand their product line.

After a year together, Project Lead the Way widened their online presence to include promotional apparel, all customizable and printed at Fineline.

We also:

Developed a second online store platform for this new business, essentially, a ‘store within a store.’
Implemented a data-driven system to help cross-market promotional and apparel items, helping build new orders
To answer higher volumes, all product orders needed to be turned around quickly. Fineline did the upfront software work to make sure as soon as each order was made, it is processed and queued up for delivery within 24-to-48 hours

The Outcome

PLTW went from being a simple STEM supplier of printed materials to teachers and schools, to supplying printed materials and apparel, and being able to customize all orders with quick turnaround.
Cross marketing system was implemented, doubling the number of items ordered in the first year Fineline implemented PLTW’s new online storefront
PLTW apparel item custom orders expanding rapidly, significantly increasing PLTW profits
With the help of Fineline’s new online storefront, overall PLTW online sales grew 375% in one year.