New capabilities mark a platform shift from system of record to intelligent operations layer. Katana is open to any AI tool, adaptive to any business model, and built to anticipate what comes next.

TALLINN, Estonia: Katana, the operating system for multi-channel commerce used by 1,500+ companies across 70 countries, today announced a strategic shift from a platform that records what happened to one that anticipates what comes next. Growing brands and manufacturers have long relied on Katana for real-time inventory visibility across every sales channel. What changes now is what that foundation can do. It delivers forward-looking intelligence, adapting to how each business operates, and connecting to the tools teams already use, without requiring a separate system or custom development.

The shift lands as shopping moves into AI tools, where a product that reads as unavailable is one the shopper never sees, and where stockouts already cost the typical brand an estimated $21,000 a year, rising to $268,000 for the hardest hit. The company is solving this challenge through new capabilities:

• Katana MCP, a native AI integration connecting inventory operations to AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT, and more
• Custom Fields, an adaptive data architecture allowing businesses to define their own records across every module
• Assisted Import, which eliminates onboarding friction by automatically mapping any spreadsheet to the platform.
• AI Replenishment, an intelligent demand forecasting and procurement tool

“Katana has always told you what’s in stock. What changes now is what that foundation can do. We’re opening a new chapter in how inventory software can work for the people who depend on it, so they can spend less time managing their software and more time growing their business.”
-- Ben Hussey, co-CEO of Katana

What is Katana MCP, and how does it work?

Katana MCP is one of the first vendor-supported AI integrations in the inventory management category. It connects a merchant's Katana account to AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT, so they can ask about their business and take action in plain language. It's available now to Katana customers on any plan, activated by signing in with an existing account. From the chat, merchants can:

• Get answers that used to mean an export and a spreadsheet
• Create and update sales, manufacturing, and purchase orders just by asking
• Use Katana alongside the other tools they've connected to their AI, like Shopify or QuickBooks

“A screen grab of a supplier's invoice, uploaded into our AI chat, now produces an accurate PO in Katana, replacing our Make and Google Sheet workflow. This will save our team countless hours across many scenarios.”
-- Spencer Tetrault, founder of Axe & Awl Leatherworks

How does Katana adapt to specific business workflows?

Katana adapts to specific business workflows through two capabilities: Custom Fields and Assisted Import.

Custom Fields lets merchants define exactly what Katana needs to track, starting with sales orders and extending next to products, inventory, purchasing, and production. It replaces the workarounds most operations rely on today.

Assisted data Import removes the most common onboarding barrier. Upload an existing spreadsheet and the platform maps it to Katana automatically, including products, materials, customers, and BOMs. No template and no reformatting needed.

What does AI Replenishment do?

AI Replenishment turns a merchant's own Katana data into a buying decision they can act on, with no black box, no separate tool, and no exports required.

The need is real. 69% of stockouts hit a product that had already run out earlier that year, a sign that reorder levels are set too low for how fast those items sell. AI Replenishment works in four steps. It automatically:

• Reads actual sales, purchasing, and inventory data, then generates a 12-month demand forecast
• Explains every recommendation in plain language, so the reasoning is clear; and lets merchants add context only they know, like an upcoming campaign or a supplier delay, to refine the forecast instantly"
• Writes the recommended safety stock directly back into Katana
• Creates the purchase or manufacturing order to close the loop, without a separate tool or a manual step.

On the roadmap, Katana extends this to proactive alerts that flag items at risk of running out, surfaced at the moment action is needed.

What does Katana offer operations that have outgrown off-the-shelf software?

The new chapter of Katana also introduces a new kind of engagement for manufacturers and brands whose operations require more than standard software can deliver. Through a dedicated Solutions Engineering offering, Katana now scopes, builds, and maintains custom integrations, dashboards, automations, and specialist solutions, built entirely around how a specific business runs, not how the software expects it to.

This moment matters because of the direction it sets. An inventory platform that connects to the AI tools your team already uses. That shapes itself to how their business operates. That anticipates what comes next and is built to tell them before they have to ask.

To learn more, visit https://katanamrp.com/.

About Katana

Katana is the easy-to-use, cloud-native Inventory Management Platform built for SMBs that sell physical products. With native integrations to ecommerce, accounting, and shipping platforms, Katana gives entrepreneurs a real-time view of their business and the tools to scale. Founded in Tallinn, Estonia, and with over $3B in gross merchandise value processed annually, Katana is trusted by 1,500+ companies across 70 countries and 75 industries.

Fonte: Business Wire