Estonian enterprise resource planning (ERP) software creator Katana has closed a USD35 million series B round, bringing the total funding to date to USD51 million.
The funds will be used to scale up the company’s features for small to medium-sized manufacturers, allowing them to manage direct-to-consumer (D2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales.
The investment round is led by global venture capital firm Northzone, Personio and Trustpilot, with the participation of impact-focused growth investor Lightrock, alongside previous investors Atomico and 42CAP.
According to the company, as the “Made in China” era of manufacturing ends, manufacturers are moving closer to consumers, selling directly via their own websites or online marketplaces – often in tandem with a B2B strategy.
“It is easier than ever to make and sell anything online. As a result, consumers have a wealth of choice and opt for brands that align more closely with their personal values, with a trend in choosing sustainable, ethically made, or organic products over mass-produced options. We see a rise in D2C manufacturing, resulting in a wave of new-generation manufacturers looking for software that helps them manage their business holistically, connecting all the facets of their business beyond inventory management.”
“Most traditional business suites for manufacturing are yet to catch up with today’s usability standards, proving a barrier as they lack modern API (application programming interface – editor) functionality and generally do not integrate well with business essentials like e-commerce stores, accounting platforms, and shipping operators.”
“As a result, the ERP space is known for poor UX/UI (user experience – editor) and low customer satisfaction. Katana’s integration-led approach gives manufacturers an ecosystem of tools and features as opposed to the traditionally siloed, monolithic enterprise solution. By bringing manufacturing software into the digital era and matching the standards of consumer technology and other SaaS verticals, Katana is already named an industry leader in the manufacturing software space by Gartner and is consistently top ranked in support and ease of use by customers,” the company said in a statement.
Katana was founded in 2017. Its portfolio includes over 1,300 companies from hobby makers to multi-million-dollar manufacturing businesses.
