Table of contents
StockTrim / Katana Data Flow
StockTrim will read your products, sales orders, purchase orders, and suppliers from Katana.
From there StockTrim will use this data to do a demand analysis and calculate your optimal inventory and order quantities to give you your optimal order plan.
Then, you can create new purchase orders, and send them to Katana to action. Sending and receiving these purchase orders should be done in Katana, which will then update your inventory in Katana.
From there StockTrim will use this data to do a demand analysis and calculate your optimal inventory and order quantities to give you your optimal order plan.
Then, you can create new purchase orders, and send them to Katana to action. Sending and receiving these purchase orders should be done in Katana, which will then update your inventory in Katana.
Step 1: Check Katana Data
In your Katana account, under "Products and Services", ensure that your intentory items are selected as "Tracked Inventory". Then, ensure that the Quantity column reflects how much actual stock you have on hand.
Also make sure that all your sales orders are recorded as invoices in Katana.
Step 2: Load data into StockTrim
In StockTrim, under "Load Data", select "Load from Katana". If this is the first time you are connecting to Katana, ensure all the boxes on the left hand side are selected.
You will need to load from Katana like this every time you wish to sync your data with Katana.
For subsequent uploads, you will only need to select "Products", "Sales Orders", and "Purchase Orders" every time. Only select "Suppliers" if you have changed your supplers in Katana and want to update StockTrim (this won't need to be done regularly)
"Load Sales Orders" only imports your most recent sales orders from Katana, since the last update, not all your history.
The "Refresh" options on the right will delete all the data points and re-import all items from Katana from scratch. This will only need to be done if you have made historical adjustments in Katana, or fixed some errors in old data, and want the new data to be re-imported into StockTrim.
You will need to load from Katana like this every time you wish to sync your data with Katana.
For subsequent uploads, you will only need to select "Products", "Sales Orders", and "Purchase Orders" every time. Only select "Suppliers" if you have changed your supplers in Katana and want to update StockTrim (this won't need to be done regularly)
"Load Sales Orders" only imports your most recent sales orders from Katana, since the last update, not all your history.
The "Refresh" options on the right will delete all the data points and re-import all items from Katana from scratch. This will only need to be done if you have made historical adjustments in Katana, or fixed some errors in old data, and want the new data to be re-imported into StockTrim.
Then select the organization in Katana you want to connect to (this should be your live account, NOT the Demo account), and select "Allow Access".
Step 3: Inventory status and order plans
On the dashboard you will see how many products you are overstocked or understocked with, as well as the related costs. Click, 'See my plan' to see the optimal reorder points and suggested order quantities to save you these costs.
Step 4: Demand Analysis
On each product, you can select the 'i' icon to bring up the demand analysis. See your trends, and see how the forecasts are calculated so you can oversee the results to have confidence they're correct.
Step 5: Global Settings
Click the settings wheel to set the lead time and service level. Make sure that the lead time is set so that you have enough stock to cover the time between when you place the orders with your suppliers and when they arrive. Review and confirm all the other settings - see FAQ if you have any questions about how these are applied.
Step 6: Create your purchase orders
On the order plan, you can see items that you are understocked with. Select create purchase orders to ensure that you order these ASAP to reduce the chance you will go out of stock. Items that are sufficiently stocked don't need to be ordered now, so you can save capital by holding off placing orders until they're needed.
Then, once you have reviewed the draft purchase orders, and approved them, you can then send them to Katana to action from there. See the links for the blog article and explainer video on-screen.
Katana FAQ's
When and how does data sync occur?
Data sync can be done whenever you like. It doesn't happen automatically, but generally just go to the load data screen and press "Load From Katana" with the default options. This should be done only as often as you place your supplier orders, and should be done first (before ordering) so that the order plan is as accurate as possible.
Data sync can be done whenever you like. It doesn't happen automatically, but generally just go to the load data screen and press "Load From Katana" with the default options. This should be done only as often as you place your supplier orders, and should be done first (before ordering) so that the order plan is as accurate as possible.
How are subscriptions and payments managed?
Your billing will be managed within StockTrim (won't appear in your Katana account). Once your free trial period is over, the app will popup the plan select screen for you to enter your credit card details and create your payment plan.
Your billing will be managed within StockTrim (won't appear in your Katana account). Once your free trial period is over, the app will popup the plan select screen for you to enter your credit card details and create your payment plan.
How can I reconcile sales data synced between Katana and StockTrim?
StockTrim only reads your sales data from Katana. So to check sales data, open up the Analysis of a product on the Order plan in StockTrim, then scroll down to the sales history table to see all sales orders transactions.
StockTrim only reads your sales data from Katana. So to check sales data, open up the Analysis of a product on the Order plan in StockTrim, then scroll down to the sales history table to see all sales orders transactions.
What if my monthly sales totals for a product in StockTrim don't match what is in Katana?
Compare the individual sales transactions. Bring up the analysis of the product, from the order plan, check the sales history, compare that with your invoices in Katana to see which individual sales transactions are different. One common reason is becuase StockTrim considers unfulfilled sales orders, since that is indicitave of actual demand that is relevant for forecasting, even if you have not fulfilled this yet.
Compare the individual sales transactions. Bring up the analysis of the product, from the order plan, check the sales history, compare that with your invoices in Katana to see which individual sales transactions are different. One common reason is becuase StockTrim considers unfulfilled sales orders, since that is indicitave of actual demand that is relevant for forecasting, even if you have not fulfilled this yet.
Where do the Stock on Hand and Stock on Order amounts come from?
Stock on Hand comes from the Inventory In Stock in Katana. The On Order amounts come from the Inventory “Expected” in Katana.
Stock on Hand comes from the Inventory In Stock in Katana. The On Order amounts come from the Inventory “Expected” in Katana.
How do I manage my payments for my purchase orders?
This should be managed in Katana.
This should be managed in Katana.
Should I receive my purchase orders in Katana or StockTrim?
In Katana. You should create your purchase orders initially in StockTrim, based on the suggestions on the order plan and your capacity requirements. Then, once they are approved in StockTrim you can send them to Katana. From there, they disappear from StockTrim and should be managed from then on in Katana, so that your payments and inventory levels update in Katana when they are adjusted or received in Katana.
In Katana. You should create your purchase orders initially in StockTrim, based on the suggestions on the order plan and your capacity requirements. Then, once they are approved in StockTrim you can send them to Katana. From there, they disappear from StockTrim and should be managed from then on in Katana, so that your payments and inventory levels update in Katana when they are adjusted or received in Katana.
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