If you use Epicor Kinetic, you already have a powerful reporting tool sitting in the system: BAQs (Business Activity Queries). A good BAQ report answers one question clearly, with data your team can trust, without waiting days for someone to pull it from the database.
This article explains what BAQs are, why they matter in manufacturing, and five BAQ reports that help most plants run tighter.
A BAQ stands for Business Activity Query. In simple terms, it’s a query you build inside Epicor to pull the exact data you need for reporting and analysis. You build it in the BAQ Designer, test it, and then use it in dashboards or reports.
Epicor also supports using BAQs as reports in the Kinetic experience, so teams can run and view BAQ results in a more user-friendly way than raw exports.
Manufacturing teams don’t need more data. They need the right data, fast, in a format people will actually use.
When BAQs are set up properly, supervisors, planners, buyers, and customer service can pull answers quickly. That means fewer “can you run a report for me?” requests and less time guessing.
A BAQ report pulls from Epicor records, which helps teams stop debating which spreadsheet is correct. It also makes it easier for production, purchasing, and finance to talk using the same numbers.
The best BAQs are focused. They highlight exceptions, bottlenecks, and risks so people can act, not just stare at a giant list of rows.
These are five BAQ reports that give most manufacturers immediate value. The key is to keep each report tight, easy to filter, and tied to a real daily decision.
This report helps production leaders see what is late and where work is stuck. The goal is not to blame anyone. It’s to focus attention on the few jobs that will impact customer shipments or the schedule.
What it typically includes:
WIP is the work that has started but isn’t finished yet. In manufacturing, WIP represents partially completed goods and the costs sitting in the production pipeline.
A WIP BAQ helps you answer: What are we working on right now, and what’s the status? Even a simple version can help planners and supervisors spot jobs that are dragging on too long.
Bad inventory data causes everything to break: planning, purchasing, scheduling, and customer promises.
This BAQ is about finding inventory “red flags,” like:
It’s one of the fastest ways to reduce firefighting, because it helps you fix problems before they show up as shortages.
On-time delivery (OTD) is usually measured as the percentage of orders shipped on or before the promised ship date.
A good OTD BAQ helps customer service and leadership see:
Even if your OTD definition varies slightly (promise date vs request date), the value is the same: it shows where your process is breaking.
Quality problems often repeat for the same parts, suppliers, or processes. This BAQ is meant to spot trends early, not after a major customer complaint.
A practical quality trend BAQ might track:
The point is simple: find the repeat issues and stop them at the source.
A BAQ can be technically “correct” and still be useless. These best practices keep reports simple and actually adopted.
One report should answer one main question. If it tries to do everything, users stop trusting it.
Give users simple filters like date range, plant, work center, customer, or buyer. This keeps reports fast and prevents “everything since 2012” results.
A planner and a production supervisor don’t need the same columns. Build the report for the person using it, not for the database.
Manufacturing changes. So does Epicor usage. A monthly review helps you clean up unused BAQs, fix slow queries, and adjust filters to match current workflows.
Yes. BAQs are commonly used as the data source for dashboards and reporting inside Epicor.
Usually it’s because the query is too broad, has heavy joins, missing filters, or pulls huge date ranges. Tightening filters and focusing the dataset often fixes most performance issues.
No. BAQs are great for operational reporting and quick answers. For complex formatting or heavy printing needs, you may use other reporting tools depending on your environment.
Most Epicor teams don’t need more reports. They need the right BAQ reports that answer real daily questions, run fast, and are easy for users to trust.
TeccWeb helps you choose the BAQs that matter most for your plant, then builds them with clean logic, clear filters, and role-based layouts so production, planning, purchasing, and customer service all get what they need without extra noise.
We also help you avoid “report sprawl” by setting simple standards for naming, ownership, and monthly review, so your BAQs stay useful as your business changes.
