From apparel and merchandise to trading cards and sports betting, Fanatics is redefining what it means to be a fan. To help further scale its business and deliver seamless customer experiences, Fanatics partnered with TCS to unify its digital operations, solve demanding data challenges, and lay the foundation for an integrated, fan-first ecosystem.
A global leader at the electrifying intersection of sports, commerce, and digital innovation, Fanatics brings licensed sports merchandise and experiences to more than 100 million customers worldwide.
Inspired by the energy and passion of the dedicated sports fan, Fanatics has pledged to relentlessly enhance the fan experience across each of its touchpoints, from iconic apparel and cutting-edge merchandise to collectibles and its rapidly expanding sports betting ventures. “The intent is to make sure that the fan, whether they want to buy a ticket or place a bet or buy a trading card, is empowered by a system that works well for them,” said John Cole, Vice President of Financial Systems at Fanatics Collectibles.
For fast-growing enterprises like Fanatics, explosive growth can introduce a formidable challenge: reconciling a sprawling operation built upon multiple disparate enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
In Fanatics’ case, the company had more than 15 separate ERP systems across its operations. To truly achieve its vision of a unified, seamless fan journey, Fanatics recognized that it needed a technology foundation capable of bringing together all its operations.
Fanatics has grown quickly in recent years through strategic acquisitions and rapid diversification into new verticals like collectibles and online gaming. Each expansion amplified the underlying challenge of data fragmentation. “We had multiple ERPs that we were trying to rationalize and consolidate into a common accounting platform,” said Cole.
Not only does such fragmentation make it impossible for companies like Fanatics to gain a holistic view of the customer, but it also complicates supply chain management and creates significant operational friction. These companies need a single source of truth for critical enterprise data to enable agility, scalability, and ultimately, a superior customer experience.
Although the choice of Oracle ERP was a solid one for Fanatics’ transformation, the initial phase of the company’s ambitious initiative faced implementation delays when the vendor wasn’t up to the task of managing the sheer scale and intricacies of Fanatics’ data. “What we saw was that the data, data quality, and tools that you need behind the scenes to make sure that you can deduplicate, rationalize, and clean up the data didn’t exist—and that caused a three-month delay in our first initiative,” said Cole.
Fanatics realized that navigating this complexity required not merely technical proficiency, but a strategic partner equipped with deep expertise, proprietary solutions, and an unwavering commitment to collaborative execution. That’s when Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) stepped in.
TCS has been willing to do whatever is asked by Fanatics, and they’ve really done a good job in this data cleansing exercise for us
TCS approached Fanatics’ challenge with a comprehensive technology advisory strategy rooted in deep Oracle expertise. “TCS has been very dedicated since day one and has been very transparent in the process,” said Cole. “TCS has been willing to do whatever is asked by Fanatics, and they’ve really done a good job in this data cleansing exercise for us.”
Utilizing the TCS MasterCraft™ platform—an AI-driven data management and quality engine designed for high-volume, complex IT modernization projects—TCS systematically deduplicated, validated, and rationalized an immense volume of critical data, processing more than 14,000 customer records and nearly 10,000 supplier entries.
The implementation process encompassed several critical steps including data assessment and cleansing, data source integration, automation of data cleansing, and standardization. This automation empowered employees to concentrate on higher-value activities, such as analyzing data trends and enhancing customer engagement.
The ability of TCS MasterCraft to quickly scale, triangulate complex data sets, and dynamically compare incoming data with live production environments was pivotal. Achieving a 99% success rate in data migration and updating 95% of data attributes, the transformation was completed in just six months with zero business disruption.
“The TCS MasterCraft platform was very important to us as part of this Oracle transformation journey,” said Cole. “Centralizing and colonizing our data sets is imperative to these programs, and it takes a lot of work. Having to do that manually in Excel would have been impossible given the scale and size and breadth of our data sets, as well as the challenges with different systems not requiring the same fields.” The ability of TCS MasterCraft to quickly scale, triangulate complex data sets, and dynamically compare incoming data with live production environments was pivotal. The unified fragmented data sources, automated cleansing, and ensured regulatory compliance allowed TCS to swiftly overcome the data quality and integration issues that had previously stymied the transformation, dramatically accelerating Fanatics’ migration to Oracle ERP.
TCS technology advisory’s collaborative approach was also instrumental, creating an environment of transparency and shared ownership with Fanatics’ internal stakeholders and their existing solution implementer. This integrated approach ensured not only the technical accuracy of the data but also its alignment with Fanatics’ operational realities and strategic objectives, minimizing disruption and maximizing adoption. Cole was even able to travel to the TCS campus in Chennai to support the project. “Getting that personal interaction with the team went a long way,” said Cole. “It was nice to share what our vision was and where we’re going, and to help them appreciate and understand what the program goals and objectives were. It definitely helped with the overall success of the program.”
Fanatics’ strategic partnership with TCS yielded profound benefits for the company, going well beyond operational improvements to fundamentally reshape the company’s enterprise capabilities altogether. By successfully unifying fragmented ERP systems and ensuring data integrity, TCS provided Fanatics with the foundation it needed to maintain the level of operational efficiency and responsiveness crucial for managing its global enterprise. The streamlined backend now better supports Fanatics’ critical functions, from precise payment processing for a vast network of suppliers to accurate invoicing for millions of customers.
This modernized, data-driven infrastructure also empowers Fanatics to focus on its core mission: delivering unparalleled fan experiences. With its seamless, reliable operational backbone, Fanatics can now deliver a more fluid, personalized, and engaging journey for fans across betting, collectibles, and commerce verticals. And the elimination of project delays and internal fatigue instilled a renewed sense of confidence within Fanatics, demonstrating TCS’ ability to handle the most mission-critical challenges with precision, dedication, and a steadfast commitment to success.
TCS’ engagement with its customers transcends the conventional client-vendor relationship, as this project with Fanatics demonstrates. Through its reliable, proactive partnership with TCS, Fanatics gained the critical infrastructure it needed to adapt, innovate, and continue redefining its global fan experience.
“The initial focus was on betting, gaming, and our corporate or holdings entity. Those businesses are live on Oracle today,” said Cole. “We’re working on bringing our North America collectibles business and commerce business onto Oracle. TCS has played a big role in helping us with the data cleansing in those two areas. And Fanatics is a global sports platform, so as we move into the next stages, the work that TCS has done will continue with our international businesses.”
As Fanatics’ ERP evolution continues with planned rollouts through 2026 and beyond, TCS remains an indispensable architect of the company’s future-ready enterprise, ensuring that the fan experience remains paramount as Fanatics continues to grow.