How SpeedShield scaled by partnering with Cohesis and implementing Katana
Katana’s intuitive platform helped SpeedShield move away from manual workarounds and legacy systems, giving them real-time visibility and operational control. Partnering with Cohesis ensured a smooth, expert-led implementation that unlocked rapid international growth.
Enabled
Global expansion
Streamlined
Financial processes
About SpeedShield
SpeedShield Technologies is an IoT company specializing in telemetry and safety cameras for the industrial vehicle market, working mainly with large OEM manufacturers. Being previously part of a bigger group of companies, they inherited a legacy ERP system that was not suitable for their needs.
Faced with rapid growth and a legacy ERP that couldn’t keep up, SpeedShield partnered with Cohesis, a certified Katana partner, to implement Katana — unlocking smoother operations and enabling international expansion.
We had a forklift rental system as a core ERP for essentially an electronics manufacturer. You can imagine that was not ideal.
David Johnson, Head of Business & Digital Systems
Challenge: An ill-suited legacy ERP was holding back growth
SpeedShield’s old ERP system had originally been designed for forklift rentals, a very niche use case that simply wasn’t matching the workflows and use cases of their electronics manufacturing business. Difficulties with creating manufacturing orders and a lack of transparency in workflows, such as work-in-progress tracking, were slowing them down considerably.
We were doing workarounds for workarounds. Just trying to process manufacturing orders and get some insight into our work-in-progress. There was no way we were going to scale with that system.
David Johnson, Head of Business & Digital Systems
Due to the poor fit of the system, they needed extensive, manual workarounds to manage their operations. This, for example, led to the company using Excel sheets for workarounds outside of the system, leading to extensive amounts of manual work.
It was clear to SpeedShield Technologies that their legacy system simply wasn’t scalable as their business was growing, so they decided to look for a new system.
Solution: A modern inventory system that integrates with other essential business software
SpeedShield wasn’t sure which system would meet their requirements best, so they kicked things off with a vendor selection process, going through demos of several platforms. They chose Katana for several reasons:
- Katana’s APIs would allow them to build further custom solutions as needed in the future.
- Katana’s user experience was intuitive, so even employees who aren’t the most tech-savvy can quickly learn to use it correctly.
- Information was presented clearly, and workflows were structured in a logical way that supported their manufacturing methods.
- The ease Katana integrates with other key systems, such as accounting software and CRMs. This allowed them to connect their accounting software, Xero, and sync data effortlessly.
We liked the modular approach — you can bolt on platforms that do specialized things like shipping integrations or CRMs. You can even chop and change accounting systems.
David Johnson, Head of Business & Digital Systems
The right implementation partner made a big difference
SpeedShield partnered with Cohesis for the implementation, because of the team’s strong competence, knowledge of Katana’s platform, and the ability to effectively migrate the essential data they needed.
With the help of Cohesis, SpeedShield was able to migrate to Katana with no data issues, and the switch went smoothly. Cohesis supported the company every step of the way, and they were able to get up and running with Katana fast. SpeedShield was so satisfied with the implementation, that they continue to work with Cohesis on other projects today.
Result: Faster growth, expansion into new markets, and more time for improving the business
SpeedShield views Katana as a game-changer for their business. The combination of Katana’s manufacturing-oriented capabilities and Cohesis’ expert guidance has transformed how they manage production, inventory, and sales. They now have real-time visibility into their operations and inventory. They also integrated their CRM and accounting systems into Katana, giving them an entirely new level of visibility into sales activity, financials, invoicing status, and more.
With the added transparency and efficiency of Katana, SpeedShield was also able to speed up their global expansion, enabling them to open in the US. They’re now looking into expanding to Europe. They’ve hired another 15 people, and have been able to focus much more on procurement, quality assurance, and other aspects of their operations they did not have time for before.
We have complete transparency into our operations now. We’ve got visibility into our stock, CRM, sales activity, and finance systems — all in a much better place.
David Johnson, Head of Business & Digital Systems
Scaling smarter with the right partner and platform
By partnering with Cohesis and implementing Katana, SpeedShield gained the operational clarity and system flexibility they needed to grow. With real-time visibility, integrated financials, and a scalable manufacturing platform, they’ve positioned themselves to expand globally and focus on continuous improvement. For partners like Cohesis, Katana unlocks new opportunities to deliver lasting value through streamlined implementations and smart integrations.
Want to achieve results like SpeedShield? Book a demo to see how Katana can transform your operations.
Are you a consultant or an agency? Learn how to partner with Katana and deliver more value to your clients.
More case studies
Get visibility over your sales and stock
Wave goodbye to uncertainty with Katana Cloud Inventory — AI-powered for total inventory control
