How many orders should a sports brand have before outsourcing its logistics?

It depends less on the number than on the signs: team hours spent packing, size errors, peaks you cannot cover or a lack of space. Compare your real cost per order (staff, space, materials, errors) with a provider’s rate.

Does each size and colour have to be a separate SKU?

Yes. It is the way to control stock, location and picking by variant. If a model is managed as a single item, there is no reliable way to know how many black Ms are left or to avoid shipping the wrong size.

Can I sell online and to retailers from the same warehouse?

Yes, and it is the recommended approach: a single stock avoids duplicating inventory. What matters is that the provider knows how to prepare both types of order, with their documentation, and reserves the stock committed to each channel.

How is the end of season handled?

With a closing stock count, separating leftover stock for outlet, return to supplier or donation, and freeing up locations for the new collection. It is worth planning this with the warehouse before the new stock arrives.

What happens to returned clothing that is not in a saleable condition?

It is separated from available stock and flagged with its status. From there you decide where it goes: outlet, repair, return to supplier or disposal. More in returns and reverse logistics.

Logistics for sports brands: a practical guide

A sports brand rarely sells “a product”. It sells a technical T-shirt in six sizes and four colours, trainers with half sizes, a jacket that only moves in autumn and socks that sell all year round. That combination of variants, seasonality and size-related returns is what turns logistics into a part of the business that shows up in your margin and in your reviews.

This guide covers the points that matter most day to day and offers a checklist to help you decide whether to keep packing orders yourself or whether the time has come to work with a logistics provider.

Why sports logistics is different

The size and colour matrix

One model in 6 sizes and 4 colours means 24 stock-keeping units (SKUs), each with its own stock, turnover and location. If the warehouse treats the model as a single item, the classic mistake soon appears: an M is shipped instead of an L, or black instead of navy. That is why each variant should have its own barcode and its own slot, and why picking should be validated by scanning rather than “by eye”.

Technical products, footwear and accessories

The same catalogue contains garments that are folded, footwear that needs its original box, bulky backpacks or helmets and small, fast-moving accessories. Each product family calls for a different kind of location and packaging. Putting everything on the same shelving makes storage more expensive and slows down picking.

Seasons, launches and end of collection

The calendar is in charge: the arrival of a new collection, launches with an order peak within a few hours, campaigns such as Black Friday, sales and the end of the season. Each phase has different needs:

New collection arrival: receiving by carton and variant against an advance shipping notice (ASN), with discrepancies documented before the stock goes on sale.
Launches and campaigns: stock put away and available before sales open, a volume forecast shared with the warehouse and enough packaging material.
End of season: a closing stock count, grouping leftover stock for outlet or return to supplier, and free space for the new collection.

The usual risk is sizing the warehouse for the average and falling short at the peak, or the opposite: paying all year round for space that is only used for a few weeks.

Returns and size exchanges

In online fashion, returns are part of the model, not an exception. According to 2025-2026 industry indices, an average of 23.7% of online orders in Spain are returned, rising to 31% in fashion and 27% in footwear. Size is the most common reason, and in that case the customer does not want their money back: they want a different size.

That makes the size exchange a retention tool. If the process is slow or confusing, the exchange ends up as a refund and the sale is lost. What you should have defined:

A returns portal where the buyer chooses the reason and, if it is an exchange, the new size.
An inspection with clear criteria (tags, wear, odour, packaging) and, ideally, a photo.
A rule on when the new size is sent: once the return is received, or before.
Fast restocking of the garment into available stock so it can be sold again in season.

We go into this in the guide on reverse logistics and size exchanges.

Two channels from the same stock

Many sports brands sell through their own online shop and, at the same time, to specialist retailers, clubs or distributors. Both channels share the same products, but not the same way of working:

Aspect	Ecommerce (B2C)	Retailers and distributors (B2B)
Typical order	1-3 units	Dozens or hundreds of units, a size assortment
Packaging	Individual box or mailer bag, sometimes with branded inserts	Cartons per item or assortment, sometimes on a pallet
Documentation	Shipping label and invoice to the buyer	Delivery note, packing list and, for key accounts, their own labelling
Priority	Speed and presentation	Assortment accuracy and the agreed delivery date

The key is a single stock visible to both channels, so that an online sale does not leave a retailer order that has already been committed without units. More detail in B2B logistics for retailers and distributors.

When outsourcing makes sense

There is no magic number of orders. These signs usually indicate that packing in-house is no longer worth it:

Your team spends more hours packing than selling, designing or looking after retailers.
Size or colour errors start showing up in reviews or returns.
Campaign peaks force you to hire temporary staff or delay shipments.
The space available is not enough for the new collection and the leftovers of the previous one.
You start selling to retailers or on marketplaces and need different processes.

Outsourcing does not mean losing control. A logistics provider (3PL) should give you more visibility, not less: according to the same indices, 69% of brands require real-time visibility of their stock. If you are not sure what a 3PL includes, start with what a 3PL and a 4PL are.

What to ask your logistics provider for

Each size and colour set up as an SKU with its own location, and picking validated by scanning.
Real-time stock by SKU, size, colour and status (available, reserved, under inspection, unsaleable).
Receiving against an advance shipping notice, with discrepancies reported.
A returns portal with size exchanges, photo inspection and restocking.
Ecommerce and B2B from the same stock, with delivery notes and packing lists.
Integration with your online shop and your carrier.
Published rates and an invoice explained charge by charge, with no hidden seasonal surcharges.

At ZENVU we are a logistics provider with our warehouse in Álava, Spain, and our own software. Each size and colour is managed as an SKU, picking is guided by the WMS, and in ZENVU Portal you can see real-time stock by SKU, size, colour and status, your orders, returns with inspection photos and size exchanges. We serve ecommerce and retailers from the same stock. You can see how we work in sport apparel logistics or work out your rate on our pricing page.

Logistics for sports brands: sizes, seasons, returns and two sales channels