Katana

Katana is cloud inventory software from Tallinn that tracks products and materials in real time across multiple locations. Katana sets reorder points, creates purchase orders based on stock needs and lead times, and uses bills of materials to plan production in-house or at a contractor.

Katana supports batch, lot and serial number tracking with expiry dates and has a warehouse app in which managers assign picking, packing and receiving tasks. Katana names connections to Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Amazon, eBay, QuickBooks Online, Xero, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, ShipStation and Zapier. Katana states that more than 1,500 businesses use the product and that it employs nearly 100 people.

Katana Technologies OÜ is registered in Estonia under registry code 14239650 at Peetri 7 in Tallinn, and its terms are governed by Estonian law. Katana dates its start to 2017 and reports having raised more than USD 51 million, without naming its investors on the about page.

The Katana privacy policy states that personal data is stored in centralized databases located in the EU and that transfers to the US rely on standard contractual clauses or the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The Katana security page adds that the service is primarily hosted on AWS and that Katana has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit.

Katana has a free plan for up to 30 SKUs with unlimited users, locations and integrations, and new accounts get 15 days with unlimited SKUs. Katana Core starts at USD 299 per month with unlimited SKUs and users and one inventory location; additional locations and delivered sales orders are billed by usage.

Manufacturing Management costs USD 199, Traceability USD 249 and Warehouse Management USD 149 per month as add-ons, and onboarding is an optional USD 2,000. Katana Advantage is custom-priced on an annual contract. Katana suits growing makers with budget; buyers who want euro pricing or a European hosting provider should look at Rackbeat or Billbee.

What Katana does well

• Katana has a free plan for up to 30 SKUs with unlimited users and locations
• Katana states that it has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit
• Katana Technologies OÜ contracts under Estonian law from Tallinn
• Katana states that personal data is stored in databases located in the EU
• Katana Core includes unlimited SKUs and unlimited users

Where Katana falls short

• Katana publishes its prices in US dollars only
• Katana runs primarily on AWS, a US cloud provider, and does not name the region
• Manufacturing, traceability and warehouse functions are paid Katana add-ons of USD 149 to USD 249 per month each
• Katana Core bills extra locations and delivered sales orders by usage, without printed rates

Standout feature. Katana is the only vendor on this page that states a completed SOC 2 Type II audit, and it pairs that with a free plan for catalogues of up to 30 SKUs.