Katana Manufacturing ERP Review

Understanding Katana Manufacturing ERP

Katana is an advanced cloud-based Manufacturing ERP (MRP) software designed to empower small and medium-sized businesses in streamlining their comprehensive manufacturing processes. This versatile platform seamlessly caters to both Made-to-Order (MTO) and Made-to-Stock (MTS) workflows. By leveraging Katana, you can effectively oversee inventory management, supply chain operations, shop floor activities, and purchase order management through its intuitive and visually-enhanced color-coded dashboards.

Setup/Personalization & Ease of Use

Katana simplifies its onboarding process by offering a 14-day complimentary trial period, allowing users to explore its premium features firsthand. Upon your initial login to Katana, you will be prompted to provide essential information about your specific manufacturing setup, including the type of manufacturing unit, the number of warehouses, and the e-commerce platforms you utilize, among other relevant details.

The software comes pre-loaded with demonstrative data across all its dashboards, offering users a comprehensive understanding of its functionalities. Notably, there is a conspicuous yellow button located in the top toolbar, allowing you to swiftly eliminate all demo data with a single click. It is recommended, however, to undertake this step after adding your unique data, ensuring that your dashboard is not left vacant, which could lead to confusion.

Upon your initial login, a helpful information box emerges on the right side of the screen, presenting a list of the initial steps necessary to commence your journey with Katana. Following these straightforward instructions will swiftly and effectively guide you through the setup process, including all the requisite steps for managing a Made-to-Order (MTO) order.

Katana boasts an intuitive interface that is exceptionally user-friendly. Dashboard names and menu items are designed to be self-explanatory, minimizing the learning curve. Color-coded boxes featured throughout the platform further enhance your ability to visualize the entire workflow seamlessly across all dashboards.

Furthermore, for those who already utilize well-known e-commerce platforms such as Shopify or WooCommerce, Katana offers seamless integration capabilities. This integration allows for the automatic importation of products directly from your e-commerce site, streamlining your workflow and enhancing overall efficiency.

Exploring Katana’s Key Features for Manufacturing ERP Excellence

In this review, we will delve into the core features of Katana Manufacturing ERP, which render it an exceptional choice for a diverse array of manufacturing industries, spanning from F&B and apparel and footwear to industrial machinery, automotive, and electronics.

• Live Inventory Management

Katana’s live inventory management feature ensures perpetual stock availability while maintaining an efficient production schedule. It furnishes real-time tracking and insights into inventory levels, encompassing both finished products and raw materials. The system’s bill of materials (BOM) level inventory management empowers you to establish reorder points for each material, thereby averting stockouts. This feature assumes even greater significance when managing across multiple warehouses, where barcodes can be employed for precise stock receipt and issuance.

• Purchase Order Management

Katana MRP’s granular purchase order tracking mitigates untimely stockouts. It enables the creation of well-timed purchase orders based on accurate material requirements, leading to inventory cost optimization without compromising production and order fulfillment. The system also provides real-time visibility into the status of each purchase order, facilitating proactive vendor and shop floor operator follow-up in line with expected delivery timelines.

• Real-Time Master Planning

An ERP’s primary purpose is to provide holistic visibility into all business processes and support informed planning. Katana MRP delivers real-time transparency into end-to-end production and resource management workflows, spanning from sales orders and vendor purchase orders to punctual production and order fulfillment. This real-time master planning ensures consistently optimized inventory levels, prioritizes production based on raw material availability, and empowers task-level shop floor management. Additionally, it automates manufacturing cost calculations based on your bill of materials and operational workflows.

• Production Planning

Katana permits the prioritization of manufacturing tasks contingent on the availability of required materials. This affords the capability to compute precise expected completion dates for each order, thereby enabling the adjustment of manufacturing priorities as necessary and ensuring that your sales team is poised for prompt delivery. Furthermore, the system equips you with comprehensive control over any delay risks arising from material supply lead times.

• Complete Shop Floor Control

The Shop Floor app within Katana furnishes exhaustive floor-level control, encompassing scheduling, task prioritization, task assignment, and floor activity optimization. It offers a detailed view of orders and BOMs for every task listed within the app. When combined with live material tracking, this app empowers you to monitor material consumption and maintain real-time oversight of products and batches.

• Precise Costing

Katana offers a robust feature that allows for the accurate calculation of manufacturing costs for all orders. By meticulously inputting material costs, you gain the ability to perform precise manufacturing cost assessments. Moreover, the platform facilitates the creation of workflows that can automatically update costs at the ingredient level with each purchase, ensuring that your cost data remains up-to-date and reliable.

• Contract Manufacturing Management

For businesses that outsource their manufacturing operations, Katana MRP streamlines the entire process. This includes the effortless issuance of purchase orders, monitoring the progress of outsourced orders, and receiving items with their associated costs accurately calculated. Real-time visibility into materials at partner locations empowers you to make informed decisions and seamlessly place orders to restock items that may be running low.

• Expiration Date Monitoring

Katana’s functionality extends to barcode scanning for stock management, enabling the tracking of expiration dates for each item within your inventory. This invaluable feature ensures that you can proactively manage items with impending expiration, making it easier to handle and plan for replenishment orders as needed. It not only aids in cost control but also contributes to product quality and customer satisfaction.

• Omnichannel Order Control

One of Katana’s strengths lies in its capacity to unify all your sales channels, encompassing both B2B and e-commerce platforms, into a single, user-friendly dashboard. This consolidation allows you to effectively track and re-prioritize orders based on delivery deadlines and material availability, regardless of the channels through which these orders were initially placed. The result is enhanced order management efficiency and an improved ability to meet customer expectations.

Integrations

Katana provides seamless native integrations with prominent accounting applications, including Xero and QuickBooks Online. Additionally, it offers effortless connectivity with well-recognized e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce. The platform’s robust APIs empower you to maintain synchronization across all your manufacturing and business data while facilitating cohesive collaboration among your teams.

Pricing

Choose a Plan Aligned with Your Needs, Adaptable as You Grow

At Katana, we believe in offering you the flexibility to select a plan that best suits your requirements, while ensuring it can seamlessly evolve as your business expands. Our pricing options cater to both monthly and annual billing cycles, and you retain the freedom to upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time, ensuring you stay in control of your budget and resources.

Essential Plan – $99 USD per month billed annually

Ideal for small businesses seeking a straightforward and scalable solution to streamline inventory management. The Essential Plan offers you the following features:

• Start a Free Trial
• Up to 500 shipped sales order lines per month
• 1 full-access user with unrestricted access to all manufacturing data and features
• Management of up to 3 warehouses
• The option to add extra users at $29 USD per month per user
• Access to native integrations with platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Xero, and QuickBooks Online
• Utilize Katana API integrations with services like Zapier, Integromat, Pipe17, and more
• Seamless integration with CRM, e-commerce, reporting, and shipping applications
• Live chat and email support from our global team

Advanced Plan – $299 USD per month billed annually

Tailored for growing businesses requiring advanced solutions for intricate inventory management workflows. The Advanced Plan encompasses the Essential Plan features and includes:

• Up to 5,000 shipped sales order lines per month
• A guided onboarding package (a one-time fee) to ensure efficient setup
• 3 shop floor operators, enabling task management through the Katana Shop Floor App
• Unlimited warehouses to accommodate your expanding business needs
• The option to add extra users at $39 USD per month per user and shop floor operators at $9 USD per month per user
• Enhanced features, including batch and expiry date tracking, serial number tracking, and barcode scanning
• Multicurrency support, allowing you to sell and purchase in multiple currencies
• Access to the Katana Shop Floor App
• Full access to Katana’s open API
• Custom PDF printouts for personalized document templates
• Live chat and email support

Professional Plan – $599 USD per month billed annually

Designed for large-scale enterprises seeking a robust solution with comprehensive guidance and support. The Professional Plan comprises the Essential and Advanced Plan features, and further includes:

• Up to 25,000 shipped sales order lines per month
• A guided onboarding package (a one-time fee) for efficient setup
• 3 shop floor operators for task management via the Katana Shop Floor App
• Unlimited warehouses
• The ability to add extra users at $79 USD per month per user and shop floor operators at $19 USD per month per user

As an added benefit, the Professional Plan currently enjoys a discounted rate for the first year. Katana’s guided onboarding packages are available to ensure you derive the maximum value from your investment, with the option to choose a premium onboarding program for an even more hands-on approach.

Select the plan that best aligns with your business’s unique needs and propel your operations to new heights with Katana. Most of the plans offer a  free trial.

Pros & Cons of Katana

Pros

• Transparent pricing and plans starting at $99 per user per month
• Live inventory management
• Supports both made-to-order and made-to-stock workflows simultaneously
• Integrates natively with popular e-commerce and accounting platforms
• Supply chain management and warehouse management available
• Excellent live support

Cons

• Only one person with full access included in the plans
• Only cloud installation available
• Shop floor operators cannot be added in Essential plan
• Batch tracking not available in Essential plan
• No HR integration available

Industries that can use Katana

• Apparel and footwear,  Automotive and boating, Custom arts and crafts,  Electronics manufacturing, Food and beverage, Health and beauty, Furniture, Industrial machinery and equipment, Jewelry inventory and accessories, Manufacturing,  Packaging and paper,  Pet food and supplies, Sports and outdoors

Conclusion

Katana impresses with its intuitive interface and features for businesses of all sizes. It offers flexible pricing options, scalable plans, seamless integrations, and comprehensive support. Ideal for small, growing, and large-scale enterprises, it stands out as a versatile and cost-effective CRM solution.