Manufacturing systems contain huge amounts of useful information. The problem is that finding the answer you need can sometimes involve navigating several screens, running reports or exporting information into spreadsheets.
AI assistants such as ChatGPT introduce another possibility.
Instead of searching for information, what if you could simply ask your manufacturing system a question? For manufacturers, using ChatGPT with Katana MRP opens up some interesting possibilities, making it easier to access and understand manufacturing information through simple questions.
Imagine starting your morning by asking:
“Which sales orders are overdue?” Then: “Which manufacturing orders are holding them up?” And finally: “Are any materials required for those orders below stock?”
Traditionally, answering those questions might require moving between sales, production and inventory information. An AI assistant connected to Katana can potentially retrieve relevant information and present it conversationally.
Depending on the connection and permissions available, useful questions might include:
✅ What manufacturing orders are currently open?
✅ Which manufacturing orders are overdue?
✅ Show the current stock level of Product A?
✅ Which customers have the most open orders?
✅ What materials are required for upcoming production?
The important difference isn’t necessarily the information itself. That information already exists in Katana. The difference is how easily people can access and understand it. Making manufacturing information accessible to more people. ERP and MRP systems are often most useful to employees who understand them well.
AI could make operational information accessible to a much wider group of employees.
A managing director might not know which Katana report to run. But they certainly know how to ask: “What orders are late and why?” That shift could significantly increase the value businesses obtain from the systems they already own.
The longer-term opportunity goes beyond retrieving information. With appropriate permissions and controls, AI assistants may increasingly be able to help initiate actions. For example:
“Create a purchase order for 100 units of Component A.” or: “Create manufacturing orders for the products required for next week’s deliveries.”
This is where AI starts moving from being simply an information assistant towards becoming an operational assistant. However, businesses should introduce action-taking capabilities carefully, particularly where purchasing, inventory or customer commitments are involved. The future of MRP may be conversational and traditional ERP systems aren’t disappearing.
Businesses still need structured databases, inventory transactions, manufacturing orders, BOMs and financial controls. AI doesn’t replace those foundations. Instead, it provides another way of interacting with them.
For manufacturers, that could mean spending less time searching through software and more time using the information contained within it.
