Real-time ingredient picking for smarter, more reliable manufacturing

Every delay matters on a busy production floor, and ingredient availability often makes or breaks a job. Yet many manufacturers still rely on outdated methods to track material usage, waiting until a task is completed before registering stock movement. This lag creates blind spots in inventory, increases the risk of production delays, and leaves teams reacting to problems instead of preventing them.

That’s where Katana’s new picking workflow comes in. Now available as part of the Advanced Manufacturing add-on, this feature lets you reserve and move ingredients into work-in-progress (WIP) status the moment they’re picked.

Why picking matters

Picking allows companies to act on real-time inventory data, not after-the-fact updates. Introducing a dedicated picking workflow helps manufacturers solve key challenges across production and inventory control.

Real-time visibility and traceability

No more guessing what’s been used or what’s available. As ingredients are picked, they’re instantly moved into WIP, giving you live updates on material usage and a clear view of what’s happening on the shop floor.

Clear job-based material ownership

When materials aren’t tied to specific jobs at the time of picking, stock can be consumed by the wrong order, leading to costly mistakes. Katana fixes that. Ingredients are now directly linked to individual production jobs, ensuring clean, traceable stock usage from the start.

Cleaner audits, sooner

Previously, full traceability depended on the financial closure of a job. Not anymore. With picking, you gain early visibility into material movements, supporting audit-readiness before financial entries are finalized and helping teams spot and solve issues proactively.

More flexible cost accounting

In many systems, moving materials immediately triggers financial costs, locking in numbers before you’re ready. Katana separates the two, allowing operational decisions to happen in real time while keeping financial entries clean and controlled.

Ready to try it?

If you’re already using the Advanced Manufacturing add-on, you can enable picking today by heading to Settings > Manufacturing > Enable picking for manufacturing.

Not using the add-on yet? You can trial Advanced Manufacturing add on before buying to see the value of smarter picking workflows, risk free.