If you run operations for a manufacturing company on Infor, you know this moment. A line goes down. By the time you get a real number on what happened, why, and what it’s costing you, the shift has already ended. Unplanned downtime averages roughly $260,000 an hour across manufacturing, according to Aberdeen Research (RELIA). Waiting on a report is not a small cost. 

This isn’t rare. Research shows half of manufacturers still lean on Excel alongside their ERP just to get a same-day answer (Qlector). They need visibility their system doesn’t give them on its own. 

This isn’t a knock on Infor. It runs your transactions, financials, and supply chain reliably. But running the plant floor and understanding what’s happening on it in real time are two different jobs. That’s where Infor native reporting vs Power BI comes in, specifically, customized Power BI dashboards built around the numbers operations leaders actually chase. 

Addend Analytics builds these dashboards for operations teams running Infor. See our Power BI dashboards for manufacturing operations. 

What Infor’s Native Reporting Gets Right on the Floor 

Infor ERP reporting tools, across CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine), LN, M3, and other Infor products, come with built-in report writers and standard operational reports. These work fine for: 

• Checking a work order’s history or a purchase order’s status 

• Pulling a standard, single-shift or single-line report 

• Quick views with no added licensing or setup 

If you’re checking one number on one line, native reporting does the job. 

Where Native Reporting Slows Down Your Decisions 

The problem shows up the moment you need a live, cross-shift, or cross-plant view. A few patterns repeat across Infor shops: 

• Reports are static. Want to slice by line, shift, or plant right now? You usually need to ask IT for a new report, not click a filter. 

• Data stays siloed. Production, inventory, and finance don’t talk to each other, so you can’t connect a downtime event to its cost impact the same day. 

• You’re always looking backward. Native reports tell you what happened. They rarely tell you what’s happening right now, on the floor, this shift. 

The cost adds up. A survey of finance leaders found 40% of boardrooms lack a complete view of their own business (Accounting Today). For operations leaders, that gap usually means finding out about a problem after the shift is already lost, not while there’s still time to act. 

Tired of finding out about downtime a day late? Talk to Addend Analytics about your Infor data. 

Turning Infor Data Into Dashboards Your Floor Can Use 

A Power BI layer on top of Infor doesn’t replace it. It connects through Infor’s database, data lake, or ION APIs, and turns that data into dashboards your team can filter, drill into, and check from a phone. 

For operations leaders, this usually means: 

• OEE and downtime by line and shift, updated near real time, with drill-down to the exact reason 

• Inventory and stockout risk, pulled straight from Infor instead of a weekly export 

• Cost variance and margin, tied directly to the operational events driving them 

The OEE number matters here. Manufacturing benchmarks put average plant OEE at 55% to 65%, while world-class plants hit around 85% (Symestic). Closing that gap starts with visibility: knowing which shift or downtime reason is driving the loss while it’s still happening, not the next day. 

See what this looks like in practice. Read about the Power BI dashboards manufacturing CEOs rely on most. 

Infor Native Reporting vs Power BI: What Changes for Operations 

Is It Time to Move Beyond Native Reports? 

If you’re still waiting on a spreadsheet to know yesterday’s OEE by line, that’s the signal. If supervisors already keep their own tracking sheets to make daily calls, that data already exists. It’s just not connected, shared, or trusted across the plant. 

How Addend Analytics Helps Operations Leaders 

Addend Analytics builds Power BI dashboards around the KPIs operations teams already track, not a generic template. We’re a Microsoft Solutions Partner with offices in Mumbai and the U.S., and we’ve delivered over 100 Power BI and Dynamics implementations across manufacturing. 

Here’s what that looks like: 

• We build around your KPIs. OEE, downtime, quality, stockouts, and margin, mapped to what your team already tracks. 

• We design for the floor, not just the office. Supervisors and plant leaders get dashboards they can actually use, without needing IT to build something new each time. 

• We make it mobile. Check OEE, inventory, or downtime data from your phone, not just a desk. 

• We stay after launch. Performance tuning and support so the numbers keep working as your operations change. 

Ready to see what your Infor data could look like on the plant floor? Explore our Power BI consulting services or get in touch for a free consultation. 

Key Takeaways 

• Native Infor reporting works for single-shift, single-module checks but can’t give operations leaders a live, cross-plant view. 

• Unplanned downtime costs manufacturers an average of roughly $260,000 an hour (RELIA), so waiting on a report has a real, measurable cost. 

• Power BI dashboards turn Infor data into near real-time OEE, inventory, and cost views by line and shift. 

• Average plant OEE sits at 55% to 65%, while world-class performance is around 85% (Symestic). Visibility is usually the first blocker to closing that gap. 

• Dashboards built around your team’s actual KPIs get used on the floor, not just in a monthly review. 

Author By

Kamal Sharma

kamal.sharma@addendanalytics.com

Kamal brings over 20 years of experience in data analytics and business intelligence. He has led the design and implementation of analytics solutions across operations, financial reporting, and performance improvement initiatives. With a background in business statistics and Six Sigma, his work focuses on applying data in a structured and practical way to solve real business challenges.