The hate of ERP systems is not new. Every time a new kid in the town challenges how they are making the ERP systems easier. There are some companies that have approached this in the right fashion, such as Odoo or Acumatica, by understanding how ERP systems work and why they need to have layered complexity. The others have simply eliminated the necessary details for them to have a scalable data model. These systems are great poor man's ERP solutions as you might not be able to afford the consulting dollars and change management at that stage. And that is OK when you are small. But you can't go very far with them without understanding how to model your customers, vendors, items, BOMs, and chart of accounts to get the tangible business benefits with costing, inventory, supply chain, and scheduling.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Katana Manufacturing ERP’s capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength and weaknesses and where they fit with their target market. We also convered their capabilities on the MRP, their approach for costing and allocation, their data model, and how that drives which customers would be the right fit for them.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.