BOM-checked purchase orders

> Cost: Freemium. Katana is free for up to 30 products (SKUs), with all features, unlimited users, the API and a 15-day unlimited-SKU start; on Free, Shopify is the only store integration. Beyond that you need Advantage, a custom annual contract (by quote) that includes guided implementation, a success manager, traceability, the shop floor app and the AI connector.

Honest note: rule-based (recipes and stock maths), not AI. The result is about avoiding a repeat of a ~$3,000 mistake, not a measured saving, and comes from a Katana-published story. "About 2 hours" of setup was for a small catalogue; yours depends on how many formulas you have.

Prerequisites

• Katana (Advantage for Amazon), plus your Shopify store and Amazon Seller Central.
• Each formula's recipe, and your suppliers' lead times.
• Your co-packers set up as locations.

Step-by-step setup

Step 1. Build one recipe per formula. For each product, set the recipe (bill of materials) with the exact concentrate or flavour, sweetener, cans and labels. Tie the flavour to its product line so a PO can't pick the wrong one.

Step 2. Add suppliers and lead times. Give every ingredient its supplier, price and lead time.

Step 3. Add co-packers as locations. Create a location for each co-packer. Track shared ingredients (for example the same can or sweetener) as one item, so you see the total across both.

Step 4. Plan production with manufacturing orders. Create a manufacturing order (MO) for each run. Katana checks stock against the recipe and shows what's missing.

Step 5. Generate the PO from the MO. Create purchase orders for the missing materials directly from the MO, instead of typing them by hand.

Step 6. Connect Amazon FBA (and FBM). Integrations Marketplace → search Amazon FBA → Connect → choose your region → name the FBA location → authorise in Seller Central → match SKUs using the template → import → activate sync. Choose daily or weekly reconciliation. FBM connects in a similar way.

Step 7. Protect direct-to-consumer stock. When a product runs tight, switch it to FBM (fulfilled by you) on Amazon so DTC customers aren't left short.

Easier: let your AI do it

Katana has an official MCP server, a secure plug that lets an AI chat like Claude or ChatGPT read and update your Katana data with your permission. Katana's pricing page lists it under Advantage.

1. In Katana, the account owner has access by default. To give someone else access, open your profile → Team → pick the user → Admin tab → switch on Access to MCP.
2. In Claude, open Customize → Connectors, click +, then Add custom connector. Name it Katana, paste https://mcp.katanamrp.com (no slash at the end), click Add, then Connect and sign in to Katana. It also works with ChatGPT.
3. Ask things like "Which materials will run short for this week's manufacturing orders?" It can read, create and update records, but it can't delete anything.

What success looks like

No more wrong-flavour orders, POs take a minute instead of an afternoon, and Amazon, Shopify and both co-packers draw from one accurate stock picture.

Common issues & fixes

• PO suggests the wrong ingredient: the recipe is wrong. Fix the recipe, not the PO.
• Amazon stock doesn't match: check SKU matching and the reconciliation schedule.
• Shared ingredient shows twice: it was created as two items; merge into one.

Optional: Maintenance

• When a formula changes: update the recipe before the next run.
• Monthly: check supplier lead times are still accurate.

Copy-paste prompt

Here are my product formulas and current ingredient stock across two co-packers: [PASTE]. My next production plan is: [PASTE]. Work out which ingredients I'm short of for each run, allowing [X]% waste, and draft a purchase list grouped by supplier with quantities rounded to their minimum order sizes. Flag any ingredient that both co-packers need in the same week.

Sources

• Case: Katana case study (organic sports drink brand). Credit: the brand's co-founder who runs operations (vendor-published).
• Katana Help: Understanding product recipes (BOMs)
• Katana Help: Connect Amazon FBA to Katana
• Katana MCP overview
• Katana Help: Connect Katana to Claude (MCP)
• Katana pricing