5 Ways Outdoor & Sports Brands Accelerate Success with PLM

In 2024, the outdoor industry was down 3% to $27.5 billion in total retail sales. Outdoor and sports companies face unique challenges due to the specificity and complexity of their offerings. Centric PLM and Centric Visual Boards reduce errors caused by manual data updates, eliminate work duplication, reduce production time and streamline workflows. Outdoor lifestyle brand KEEN improved efficiency across their complex global supply chain and cut reporting time by 50% thanks to Centric PLM.

Centric PLM keeps top brands on track:

1. Merging technical performance with aesthetics

Outdoor and sports gear must perform under intense physical and environmental stress, while also looking fashionable. Recent research shows that new, more casual participants are changing the product mix in the outdoor market, leading to designs that feel more accessible for everyday wear.

Getting designs just right the first time is invaluable to a company keeping up with fast-changing trends. Centric PLM and Centric Visual Boards keep essential information like design sketches, material swatches, approved colorways and field test results accessible and up to date within a unified platform. Having this information in one place means designers, merchandisers, buyers and sourcing teams understand how aesthetic choices affect performance, making it possible to pivot designs when needed to enhance product success.

2. Streamline complex materials

Outdoor and sports brands often work with specialized materials, such as moisture-wicking and stretch fabrics, as well as technical coatings. These require specific and rigorous testing and safety checks and add layers of supplier coordination.

Managing this complexity introduces logistical headaches when your teams lack visibility and accurate data. With PLM, test results, vendor compliance and material data are coordinated and easy to access. When compliance regulations shift, teams are notified immediately, saving time, money and resources.

Design teams access a visual comparison of materials, finishes and technical attributes, which empowers them to make rapid decisions to balance collections, meet shifts in demand and deliver products that look great — while meeting safety and performance requirements before garments head to production.

 3. Drive tighter product lines

Having to balance performance and lifestyle demands means designs have to be fashionable, functional … and fast! Trend cycles in the outdoor and sports markets are breathtakingly short. Centric PLM accelerates workflows by reducing manual workloads and automating repetitive tasks. Integrated product development steps enable faster approvals and deliver actionable insights into risks and trends. Centric Visual Boards enable outdoor teams to envision innovative new products using available colors, fabrics and technical elements, so they can bring products to market with greater agility and accuracy.

 4. Manage multiple SKUs

The outdoor and sports industries are known for managing a high volume of SKUs to meet product demand. Widely varied colorways, fits, trim details and region-specific variants add to the complexity.

Centric PLM maintains a single actionable source of truth to simplify and streamline tracking of thousands of SKUs across multiple seasons. Specifications, samples, regional variants, cost data and production status are traceable within the platform, so teams can access accurate information and real-time updates anywhere.

An interactive workspace enables visualization of the current SKU mix and rapid ideation with drag and drop colorways changes. Designers more easily spot which products are over- or under‑represented and are empowered to consolidate or expand based on what. This product clarity reduces overproduction, prevents inventory gaps and optimizes market offerings.

5. Easily track sustainability and compliance in PLM

Consumers, regulators and partners increasingly expect high transparency, sustainable materials, ethical labor, low waste and traceability. Centric PLM empowers outdoor and sports brands to rise to these requirements by tracking adherence to sustainability goals, preventing overproduction and optimizing inventory. The platform also simplifies sustainability visibility, labeling and reporting. Consumers get accurate information about the environmental impact of brands and specific products. Companies deliver sustainability data to regulatory bodies with greater efficiency. Win-win.

Centric Visual Boards enable sports and outdoor teams to evaluate designs through a sustainability lens. This empowers designers to use more eco‑friendly materials from the start and track sustainable material supply chains. Streamlined workflows and agile collaboration tools compress development timelines, which in turn reduces waste without compromising quality, compliance and margins.

Brands using Centric PLM and Centric Visual Boards often see lower waste, ensuring data accuracy from initial concept through to final production.

Leading outdoor and sports brands such as On, Gymshark, KEEN, Mizuno, Merrell and arena rely on Centric Software to balance performance, design innovation, speed to market and customer responsiveness. Staying ahead in this industry and building strong customer loyalty depend on more than just great products; they require swift decision-making and continuous innovation based on smart insights.

Like a trusted pair of running shoes, Centric PLM and Centric Visual Boards are designed to accelerate growth, avoid costly missteps and deliver exactly what consumers want, quickly. Get ahead in a competitive field with these two powerhouse solutions.