Katana

About Katana

Katana is a cloud-based manufacturing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software designed for small and medium-sized manufacturers. The company was founded in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2017 by Kristjan Vilosius, Priit Kaasik, and Hannes Kert. The founders launched the company to address a gap in the market for modern, intuitive software for manufacturers who were struggling with outdated systems or relying on spreadsheets to manage their operations. Before starting Katana, Kristjan Vilosius had a background in finance, M&A advisory, and was an angel investor in manufacturing and technology companies. This experience provided him with firsthand insight into the frustrations modern manufacturers faced with archaic software. Hannes Kert was the CEO and co-founder of an analytical consultancy firm before joining Katana. The initial idea was funded with $700,000 raised from a 10-slide presentation in April 2017, and the first prototype was built a month later, leading to the first paying customers in early 2018.

Katana's platform serves as a central hub for manufacturers, providing real-time visibility and control over their entire business. The software integrates production planning, inventory management, sales order fulfillment, and shop floor control into a single system. Key features include real-time inventory tracking of raw materials and finished goods, production planning and scheduling, bill of materials (BOM) management, and order management that consolidates sales from various channels. The system supports both make-to-order (MTO) and make-to-stock (MTS) workflows, offering flexibility for different production processes. Katana also offers a Shop Floor App for floor-level task management and progress tracking. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, enabling businesses to move from spreadsheets to a more sophisticated system without a steep learning curve.

The company's business model is subscription-based, with several pricing tiers aimed at different business sizes, though recent changes have seen it move towards serving larger businesses. Katana makes money by charging a monthly or annual fee for access to its software. The platform integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, as well as accounting software such as QuickBooks Online and Xero. It also has an open API for custom integrations. Katana has raised a total of $68.6M over several funding rounds, including a $35 million Series B round in 2022 led by Northzone. The company serves a global portfolio of over 1,300 companies in industries like apparel, food and beverage, cosmetics, and electronics.