Fanatics Boosted Sales With New Supply Chain Tech

The company’s shift to flexible inventory management helped it capture $5 million in additional sales.

Updated on Oct. 2, 2026 in Manufacturing

Stacked rolls of raw athletic fabric and white blank jerseys inside an organized industrial logistics warehouse. — Fanatics increased quarterly sales by $5 million after adopting a flexible supply chain model that uses blank apparel to reduce inventory waste from player trades. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Fanatics generated $5 million in additional sales during the first quarter after implementing new supply chain software in 2025. The move allowed the $13 billion business to better manage inventory for its 100 million customers.

Why it matters

The company overhauled its planning to mitigate inventory risks caused by player trades, which can leave thousands of jerseys unsold. By prioritizing flexible stock, the firm aims to minimize markdowns and improve product availability.

Fanatics generated $5 million in additional sales in the first quarter of system implementation, targeting $65 million in total cost reductions via inventory management. The strategy aims to support an 8% increase in revenue.

The players

Fanatics

A $13 billion apparel and merchandise business serving a consumer base of 100 million people.

o9 Solutions

A technology firm providing supply chain transformation software used by large-scale enterprises.

Ben Pivar

An executive who presented the company's supply chain strategy at an industry summit.

The details

Fanatics segmented its supply chain into three tiers: long lead time (65%), made-to-order (10%), and flexible blank apparel (25%). By storing blank jerseys onshore or nearshore, the firm can print items on demand and ship them within two weeks. This flexibility is designed to replace traditional planning models that previously left 175,000 jerseys stranded after unexpected player trades.

Fanatics initiated its supply chain reinvention project in 2025.
The supply chain project is scheduled to run through 2030.
Ben Pivar discussed the initiative at a Chicago summit in September 2026.

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Market Landscape

This move follows the broader retail trend of adopting nearshoring to shorten lead times and improve agility. It marks a departure from traditional long-cycle apparel planning, which often results in significant inventory write-downs.

Operators should evaluate if their current inventory mix—specifically the ratio of long-lead versus on-demand stock—is leaving them vulnerable to market volatility. Auditing SKU turnover relative to supply chain lead times can help identify opportunities for similar cost-saving inventory pivots.

The takeaway

Proactive inventory segmentation can turn supply chain risks into revenue growth, even when long lead times are unavoidable. Benchmark your own product cycle times to see if moving a fraction of your inventory to a nearshore, on-demand model could reduce capital locked in stagnant stock.