How Hutchinson Engineering Cut Two Days of Manual Reporting Each Week and Improved On-Time Delivery

What happens when moving to the cloud makes reporting harder instead of easier?

For many manufacturers, moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS brings significant operational benefits. But it can also introduce an unexpected challenge: reporting.

That's exactly what Hutchinson Engineering experienced.

After moving from an on-premises ERP environment, the company lost the direct SQL database access it had relied on for years. Reports that were once built using SQL queries and SSRS suddenly required a completely different approach. Spreadsheets became the temporary solution, but manual reporting quickly created new problems, different departments worked from different figures, reports took hours to prepare and leadership lacked a single, trusted view of the business.

By implementing Business Central Insights, Hutchinson replaced spreadsheet-based reporting with live Power BI dashboards connected directly to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The result was faster reporting, greater confidence in business data and improved visibility across manufacturing operations, customer deliveries and supplier performance.

At a Glance

Customer: Hutchinson Engineering

Industry: Subcontract Manufacturing

ERP: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Reporting Solution: Business Central Insights

The Challenge

Hutchinson Engineering manufactures complex fabricated components for customers across multiple industries. With multi-level Bills of Materials, subcontracted operations and detailed production routes, understanding where work is, why delays occur and whether orders will be delivered on time is critical.

Moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS fundamentally changed how the business accessed its reporting data. Direct SQL access was no longer available, making it much harder to build the operational reports the business depended on.

As Neville Glenn, IT Manager, explains:

"We moved to SaaS, and suddenly we couldn't access the database directly anymore. As an IT person, you're sitting there thinking: 'I need information, but I can't get to it.'"

Teams turned to Excel as a workaround, exporting data and creating their own reports. Over time, different departments began working from different versions of the same information, while manual reconciliation became an increasingly significant part of everyday reporting.

Robert Walker, Business Improvement Manager, summed up the challenge:

"We had people looking at different data, trying to get it out of Business Central in their own way. There was no single source of truth."

Why Business Central Insights?

Hutchinson considered several reporting options, including Jet Reports and developing Power BI dashboards internally. While both approaches were possible, they would require significant development time and ongoing maintenance as Business Central evolved.

Business Central Insights provided a ready-made reporting platform designed specifically for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, giving the team access to professionally maintained Power BI reports across manufacturing, sales, finance, inventory and purchasing.

Instead of spending months building reporting infrastructure, Hutchinson could immediately begin analysing its business.

As Neville explains:

"We ultimately chose BCI because it met our needs straight away. Given the volume and quality of the reports included, the cost was easy to justify."

From Manual Reporting to Live Operational Visibility

One of the biggest improvements came through on-time delivery reporting.

For Hutchinson, delivery performance is one of the most important measures of operational success. Large customers regularly review delivery performance, making it essential to understand not only which orders are late, but why.

Business Central Insights allows managers to drill directly from high-level dashboards into individual customers, production orders and transactions, helping identify delays before they become larger operational issues.

The same reporting approach has also been applied internally.

Rather than viewing production as one continuous process, Hutchinson now monitors on-time performance between individual manufacturing stages, including cutting, folding, fabrication, painting and subcontracted operations. Managers can quickly identify bottlenecks, understand where work is slowing down and improve accountability throughout the production process.

The reports have also improved supplier performance monitoring, allowing purchasing teams to identify vendors whose delivery reliability is affecting manufacturing schedules.

Better Reporting Improved Data Quality

One of the most valuable benefits wasn't simply better dashboards, it was better data.

Because Business Central Insights reflects the live information stored in Business Central, inconsistencies that had previously gone unnoticed quickly became visible.

During implementation, Hutchinson identified outdated subcontractors appearing in delivery reports because Bills of Materials had not been updated correctly.

Rather than hiding these issues, the reports exposed them, allowing the team to improve the quality of its underlying Business Central data.

As Robert explains:

"The reports didn't just give us answers—they exposed problems."

Business Results

Business Central Insights transformed reporting from a manual weekly exercise into a real-time operational management platform.

The business achieved:

Around two days of manual reporting effort saved every week
Elimination of much of the spreadsheet reconciliation that had previously consumed 40–50 hours during intensive reporting periods
Live visibility into On-Time Delivery performance
Earlier identification of production bottlenecks
Better supplier performance analysis
Greater confidence in Business Central reporting

Beyond the measurable time savings, the biggest improvement has been giving every department access to the same trusted information, allowing management to focus on improving operations rather than validating reports.

Why It Matters

Many manufacturers moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS experience the same challenge. While cloud ERP provides significant operational advantages, losing traditional SQL reporting often forces organisations to rely on spreadsheets or develop complex reporting environments from scratch.

Hutchinson Engineering demonstrates that the real challenge isn't Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central itself, it's building a reporting platform that allows every department to trust, explore and act on the data it already contains.

By replacing manual reporting with Business Central Insights, Hutchinson created a reporting foundation that supports manufacturing, sales, purchasing and leadership with real-time Power BI reporting.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much reporting time did Hutchinson Engineering save?

The business reduced approximately two days of manual reporting effort each week, replacing spreadsheet-based reporting with live Power BI dashboards connected directly to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Why did moving to Business Central SaaS affect reporting?

Moving to the cloud removed direct SQL database access, meaning traditional reporting methods were no longer available. Business Central Insights provided a modern reporting platform built specifically for Business Central SaaS.

How did Business Central Insights improve manufacturing reporting?

The reports provide real-time visibility into production performance, on-time delivery, internal manufacturing stages, supplier performance and operational bottlenecks, allowing managers to investigate issues using drill-through to transaction level.

Does Business Central Insights replace Power BI?

No. Business Central Insights is built on Microsoft Power BI and provides professionally maintained semantic models together with more than 400 ready-made reports designed specifically for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Want to Improve Manufacturing Reporting in Business Central?

Business Central Insights helps manufacturers replace spreadsheet reporting with real-time Power BI dashboards built specifically for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Gain visibility across production, inventory, purchasing, finance, warehouse operations and on-time delivery from a single trusted reporting platform.

Learn more about Business Central Insights

https://businesscentralinsights.com

Explore Manufacturing Insights

https://businesscentralinsights.com/manufacturing

Book a personalised demonstration

https://businesscentralinsights.com/demo