MRPeasy vs Katana: compare production depth and inventory flow

Compare MRPeasy and Katana using the products the shop makes and the records it must maintain. An assembler, a repeat-production business and a manufacturer selling through several channels may need different demonstrations. A generic inventory feature list does not expose those differences.

Establish the model

Write down whether work starts from a sales order or stock target, how many manufacturing levels exist and which operations or materials constrain delivery. Include outside processing, partial completion, rework and traceability where required. Each becomes a testable requirement rather than a reason to buy the longest feature list.

MRPeasy’s official plan page lists manufacturing and planning capabilities and shows some functions depend on plan. Katana’s inventory page describes connected stock visibility and its support documentation explains manufacturing-cost calculations. These statements establish evaluation areas, not that every requirement is included in a proposed subscription.

Demonstrate the process

Use a synthetic assembly with purchased components and a manufactured subassembly. Ask each vendor to create demand, inspect availability, plan production, receive a partial supplier delivery and complete a partial manufacturing quantity. Observe stock and promised dates after each step.

Introduce the exception that matters most: substitute material, rejected output, outsourced operation or revised BOM. Require an explanation of the supported workflow and resulting records. Do not award credit for a workaround until its operator understands the steps and consequences. Ask whether reversing an incorrect transaction preserves a usable audit trail.

Inspect the cost basis

Ask which valuation and operation-cost records contribute to the completed item and reconcile an example manually. Manufacturing cost and job profitability may answer different questions; ensure everyone uses the same meaning. Record where incomplete time or material reporting reduces confidence. Check treatment of partial completion and purchased-service charges in the proposed configuration.

Normalize the offer

MRPeasy publishes per-user plans and additional-user rules. Katana describes a price basis involving order volume, locations and add-ons. These cannot be compared by placing starting prices side by side. Price the same users, transaction scenario, locations and required capabilities, then add implementation and internal transition time.

Request sample exports and confirm how item, BOM, transaction and attachment data can leave. Identify who cleans master data before a pilot. A trial with tidy demonstration data says little about readiness of the shop’s records. Include a small import of representative synthetic data to expose field and unit assumptions early.

Choose based on demonstrated production exceptions, traceable costs and total scope. This comparison claims neither a universal winner nor equivalent feature coverage and includes no hands-on testing. Public documentation guides a controlled pilot; the pilot establishes fit. Preserve its unresolved questions alongside the proposal so a commercial decision does not silently turn an assumption into an accepted requirement.