What if your biggest customer experience problem isn’t your marketing… but your inventory spreadsheet?
In the era of one-click checkouts, Prime delivery expectations, and endless online channels, brands are pouring millions into customer acquisition—only to lose customers post-purchase. Why? Because they can’t deliver what they just sold.
Today’s guest says the future of e-commerce success doesn’t lie in a flashier storefront or a new influencer strategy—it lies in mastering the messy, invisible world of inventory.
I’m excited to welcome back Riikka Söderlund, now Chief Operating Officer at Katana Cloud Inventory.
About Riikka Soderlund
Riikka Söderlund is the Chief Commercial Officer at Katana Cloud Inventory, where she leads the company’s go-to-market strategy, driving growth across marketing, sales, and customer success. With a background as CMO and a proven track record in building scalable systems and high-performing teams, she brings deep expertise in data-driven growth, B2B SaaS, and customer-centric strategy. Her work at Katana has helped power over $2 billion in annual sales order volume by enabling small and medium-sized manufacturers to modernize their operations and scale efficiently.
Resources
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Transcript
What if your biggest customer experience problem isn’t your marketing, but your inventory spreadsheet? In the era of one-click checkouts, prime delivery expectations, and endless online channels, brands are pouring millions into customer acquisition, only to lose customers post-purchase. Why? Because they can’t deliver what they just sold. Today’s guest says the future of e-commerce success doesn’t lie in a flashier storefront or a new influencer strategy.
It lies in mastering the messy, invisible world of inventory. I’m excited to welcome back Riikka Söderlund now chief operating officer at Katana Cloud Inventory. Riikka, welcome back to the show.
Greg Kihlstrom (01:48.534)
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Love to have returning guests here. So and yeah, loved our discussion last time. So for those that did miss that, it would be great if you introduce yourself and your role at Katana.
Of course, I’ve actually moved a little bit further from just the pure realm of marketing since we last spoke, which is something that I think a lot of marketers are actually doing right now. So I’m now also overseeing data and analytics, revenue operations, kind of the broader scope of how does a brand actually acquire customers and develop a customer experience. For us at Katana, that means that how do we actually service our 1,500 SMB customers who are trying to tackle their inventory challenges in a very complex environment like you just described.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. you know, I think it does it may get it doesn’t get overlooked by everyone, but, I think it gets overlooked at some within organizations as such a critical part. So let’s let’s talk about that. You know, we’ll talk about a few things today, but I want to talk about inventory and inventory management as a customer experience differentiator. And so you’ve described it as a silent but critical force behind customer experience. Why are so many brands overlooking this connection between logistics and customer loyalty.
Riikka Söderlund (03:11.502)
You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about that because I have to confess that, I mean, my, my own background is in FMCG and that more retail side of marketing. I never really gave any thought to inventory back then either, but I think, I think things have been changing really rapidly in the past 10 years, past five years, and also in the past 12 months. And the role of inventory keeps getting more and more crucial as the speed with which customers expect service and delivery gets higher and higher. So it isn’t enough that you have stuff in your warehouse anymore. You need to know exactly what you have. Where is it? When are you able to deliver to keep customers, demanding customers happy also in 2025?
Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, because I mean, so much on the customer acquisition side is focused on this frictionless customer experience. We want the one click buy. We want the all of that. But what does this look like? What is real customer frictionless customer experience when inventory management is done well?
Yeah, exactly. I feel like a lot of people settle for, we know what’s in stock and we know what’s out of stock. But it is not a frictionless customer experience if your website says out of stock or if it says we’ll be back in stock in six weeks, six to 12 weeks. When is it then back in stock? Do you think your consumer will stay and wait and not go to a competitor? Come on. It’s 2025. Endless options. So it really is that availability. That’s what frictionless means. Constant availability and streamlined information sharing with the customer so that they know exactly what to expect, when to expect it, and preferably so that you can actually beat your competition in your speed of delivery.
Greg Kihlstrom (05:12.94)
Yeah, yeah. mean, that is that is such a critical point because, know, and you’ve worked with a lot of fast growing companies and you know that it’s it’s challenging enough as a marketer. Also, you know, it’s challenging enough to get awareness out there and interest in a product and differentiation, you know, all of those like marketing things. But then to your point, they click the button and it’s out of stock. Yeah, they’re going somewhere else. Right. So.
How do you, from an operational complexity standpoint, what’s the biggest inflection point when inventory complexity starts to overwhelm a small team at one of those fast growing brands?
That’s a good question. think the key word there in your question is complexity. The point is when complexity becomes too much for one person or one spreadsheet to handle. So it can come as you are expanding from your, if you’re just selling in your Shopify store, now you’re adding in Amazon. Well, how do you know if you’ve sold something on Amazon, if it’s still available on Amazon, how do you keep that in track?
Or if you’re opening a second location, or if you’re hiring more people who need to have access to that data simultaneously, if you have another sales team in the West Coast, the added complexity that can come in many shapes or forms, I think right now on top of mind for many brands is where are they sourcing their goods? Do they come overseas? Are they transferring manufacturing? Can they get all their raw materials that they used to get from one place?
Maybe now it’s multiple places. So those complexities can vary from brand to brand, but it’s always, it’s that complexity. When that starts to add up, it adds up exponentially.
Greg Kihlstrom (07:03.948)
Yeah. Well, and another another component which we touched on a little bit there is, you know, as as a brand has grown, there’s there’s these competing forces, right? You know, so the the sales and marketing folks are going to want channel expansion. You know, they want the broadest possible, you know, entry set of entry points for for customers. Right. And yet that to what you were just saying adds complexity and potentially those, you know, out of stock
messages and things like that. you know, how do you how do you recommend that brands manage inventory when selling across, you know, Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, even in store? You know, how how should they be thinking about this?
Yeah, I mean, it adds complexity, but it doesn’t have to add complexity to the process of the employees. I it’s not rocket science that you can have your inventory data on the cloud and in a software platform that is able to serve it in real time to all different stakeholders that need it, whether they’re in-house or outsourced. So I think the key point is really to start to think what does that enable you?
It’s a growth enabler that you are actually then able to sell in multiple touch points. And obviously if you come from the traditional inventory management world of ERPs, then that would mean that, no, my God, an ERP implementation project, tens of thousands and months and months. And then that kills your growth. But that’s not the case anymore. mean, my God, the technology has advanced.
Cloud technology has advanced and AI has made incredible advancements. So it is possible to reduce that complexity or manage that complexity and keep growing.
Greg Kihlstrom (08:53.71)
you
Greg Kihlstrom (08:58.656)
Do you want to talk about the role of AI? And certainly, you know, I think a lot of what you’re touching on as far as simplifying things stems from what Katana is able to do as well. But, you know, one of those things is Katana is integrating AI into its platform. So can you talk about, you know, how how is AI being used from everything from prediction to optimizing stock levels, things like that?
Yeah, I’d love to think the possibilities that AI can do in inventory management are absolutely endless. And we’ve only just gotten started. I think there’s a little bit of hesitation for brands to actually allow AI to give them recommendation or trust that automation, which is understandable. mean, we’re hesitant to get on a self-driving car. takes a little bit of time to understand what technology is able to do for you. it’s actually like, there’s so much already that AI could do, but it’s actually more a question of how far do we want to push it so that we are still allowing brands to hold the reins, which is the case, for example, with Katana when it comes to things like, you know, forecasting or planning. It is actually possible of course to automate that whole cycle of dentistry replenishments and all. But it seems that brands are more comfortable with getting recommendations and still being the ones then pushing the button. And again, kind of especially now making the determination of where am I going to source those goods because right now things are even trickier with the trade war situation.
Right, right. Yeah. And so, you know, to kind of to dive into that a little bit more on the on the on the balance side. So, you know, I think the self-driving car analogy is a good one because technically, yes, they exist. You know, I wrote in one many years ago. And, you know, even though there was someone like sitting there just in case, you know, it navigated fine. But, you know, there’s been I think there’s a lot of trepidation. And for for.
Greg Kihlstrom (11:07.394)
good reason to just completely hand the steering wheel over to use that metaphor. And yet, know, AI is advancing and and you know, the tools are getting better. So, you know, how do you like maybe as of today, you know, how should leaders be looking at at this balance and and probably planning for a future where there’s maybe a little bit of more AI than than now? Like, how should leaders be thinking now?
Yeah, I think it’s really, really crucial that brands start to prepare now, even if they aren’t planning to fully automate their entire supply chain anytime soon. Just having that ability to do so when that customer or consumer expectation comes. If you then start to plan, well, how am I going to move my operation to an AI ready environment? You’re going to be way too late because it all starts with having
your data in the cloud and having the kind of data that AI can utilize so that you can actually then enable, for example, AI agents to utilize your data set. If your inventory information is on a spreadsheet on your computer and your computer is underneath the CEO’s table somewhere, there’s absolutely nothing that AI can do for you and it will be a pain.
to start to move that data to the cloud and you will not have historical data. So just being prepared doesn’t cost you much, but it does in the future, prove your business.
Yeah. And so I want to go back to an earlier point that you were talking through is just, you know, it it seems and I see this too, as know, brands are starting to pay a little more attention to what you’ve referred to as the experience after the click. So, you know, you buy again, the marketers are happy because they made the sale or whatever. But, you know, the customer is not happy until they receive.
Greg Kihlstrom (13:08.29)
the thing they ordered in the way they want it and as quickly as they want, you know, all of those, those other expectations. How are you saying, you know, are you, are it sounds like you’re seeing that, that more of a focus is being put on that, that, you know, after the click experience, how would you recommend leaders think about, you know, a smart inventory strategy being part of the, you know, there’s, there’s other things like email communications and all those things that again, some may gravitate towards as part of the experience, but like,
How does inventory strategy really fit into this post purchase journey? Yeah.
It again starts with having that data available for your marketing team, for your marketing automation, whether you want to send email or SMS notifications, whichever way you want to inform your customer about the status of their order, then all the data just has to be in real time and available in cloud. I think that’s almost table stakes at this point. That is what the consumer expects.
So I think brands will put a lot more focus this year and next in what happens then if the customer isn’t happy and wants to return their purchase. How do you help facilitate that process? Because that in many cases is still incredibly hard. And even if you manage to do it, then you have inventory coming back. How do you make sure that you are able to resell it? Or even if you aren’t, to start to identify why was it returned?
who are the customers who are making those returns? What is the core reason they’re making those returns? What is it costing me? What is it doing for the overall cost of goods so that I can ensure I’m running a profitable business, which will be more crucial than ever for SMBs this year. So think that piece of it, the actual business intelligence of what lies underneath that customer experience is going to be the focus area for SMBs this year.
Greg Kihlstrom (15:08.844)
Yeah, and that’s where I mean, I think the reverse logistics is that the is that the right? OK, I learned that term the other day, so I’m still learning. But I mean, that’s another that’s a huge one where, you know, the Amazons of the world and, you know, Alibaba’s and all those like they figured this stuff out. They have the resources and the depth and breadth to do that. But to your point, the small and medium businesses that are competing with those, not even the largest of players, but the large players even, you know,
Inventory in the first place is one thing, but then the reverse logistics as well. you know, is that is AI how some of this this playing field gets gets leveled on?
think AI will play a big role in it, especially I think in the early stages. It will help brands understand the customer experience better, analyze it as well as facilitate it. Because imagine if someone is deciding to do a return, then they are already disappointed in their experience. So you actually have to work twice as hard to now make up for that less than great brand experience.
So just enabling the return probably isn’t enough, but with AI, you can of course make it a much, much more personalized experience, which is a good first step to start to reclaim the confidence of that consumer.
Yeah, yeah, makes sense. So I know we’ve talked about a few forward facing things here, but you know, what’s you know, what’s the biggest shift that you see on the horizon for brands that, you know, they want to be agile, they want to be customer focused, you know, especially as all these things we’ve talked about, we didn’t talk a lot about social commerce, but you know, that’s certainly a big force as well. You know, what what are some, you know, what’s what’s the biggest shift that you’re seeing that leaders should pay attention to?
Riikka Söderlund (17:02.798)
Yeah, I do think that it is time to put again, more focus on customer experience. think it was a buzzword five years ago. Then a lot of different things have happened. It’s kind of been on the background, but the reason that gets incredibly important again is that as AI and automation advances, it becomes technically possible to remove the brand.
from between the consumer and the manufacturer. The brand actually needs to fight for its position and the added value it brings to that supply chain when we are facilitating faster and faster and easier supply chains with technology. The amount of technology and power a consumer has in their hands when they’re holding their iPhone would enable all kinds of different supply chains already.
So brands really need to think about what kind of added value are they bringing to the process. Just the product they’re selling most likely won’t be it in five years.
Yeah, yeah. Great point. Well, Riikka, thanks so much for joining today. One last question for you. I ask everybody here, what do do to stay agile in your role and how do you find a way to do it consistently?
You know, I used to just read a lot of books, listen to a lot of podcasts and just kind of constantly update that way. What I’ve been finding the past, let’s say like three to six months though is I am reading brand or technology providers newsletters again. When was the last time you read the Shopify product updates newsletter or the HubSpot product updates letter, the amount of spam in my email box?
Riikka Söderlund (18:54.794)
insane so I usually just skim over those but the speed with which AI is developing and these brands are using it to improve their product and their customer experience I’m finding that actually that granular level of well what is HubSpark doing this week that is actually helping me to understand what’s happening in the bigger picture as well even when I’m just looking at this niche area of it.
