Custom Manufacturing Analytics: Generate Production Reports with Shopify Sidekick

B2B manufacturers need visibility into their sales operations: which customers are ordering in bulk, how products are performing, and where fulfillment bottlenecks occur. Building custom reports traditionally meant learning query languages or exporting data to spreadsheets for manual analysis.

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Shopify Sidekick changes this by letting you describe the report you want in plain language. Sidekick generates ShopifyQL queries and creates visualizations (bar charts, line graphs, donut charts) based on your Shopify Analytics data.

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This guide shows how B2B manufacturers can use Sidekick to build tailored reports for bulk order tracking, customer analysis, and supplier performance, along with what's possible and what requires additional integration.

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How Sidekick Creates Custom Reports

Sidekick works within Shopify Analytics to help you build explorations (custom reports) without writing queries manually.

Building a Report with Sidekick

1. Go to Analytics > Reports in your Shopify admin
2. Click New exploration
3. In Sidekick's "What do you want to explore?" field, describe what you want to see in plain language
4. Review the generated query and visualization
5. Use Refine query to adjust filters, date ranges, or groupings
6. Click Save to keep it as a custom exploration

You can also open an existing report and use Sidekick to customize it, then save as a new report.

What Sidekick Can Report On

Sidekick generates reports from data available in Shopify Analytics:

• Orders: Volume, value, status, fulfillment
• Sales: Revenue, discounts, returns
• Customers: Purchase history, segments, lifetime value
• Products: Units sold, variants, collections
• Inventory: Stock levels, movements (where available)

What Requires Integration First

Sidekick can only visualize data that exists in Shopify. Production-floor metrics like OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), scrap rates, throughput, and machine downtime live in your ERP or MES systems. To report on these in Shopify, you'd need an app or integration that brings that data into Shopify in a reportable format.

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For most manufacturers, Sidekick's value is in sales and order analytics, not production operations. Use your ERP for production metrics and Sidekick for commerce insights.

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Bulk Order Tracking Reports

Tracking bulk orders is where Sidekick shines for B2B manufacturers. Your Shopify order data contains everything needed to analyze wholesale purchasing patterns.

Top Bulk Buyers Report

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Create a report showing total units sold and total sales by customer for the last 90 days, sorted by units sold descending."

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What you get:

A table and chart showing which customers are ordering the highest volumes, helping you identify:

• Your largest accounts by quantity (not just revenue)
• Customers who might qualify for volume pricing tiers
• Accounts worth prioritizing for relationship management

Bulk Order Trends Over Time

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show weekly order count and average order value for the last 6 months."

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What you get:

A line chart revealing ordering patterns:

• Seasonal trends in B2B purchasing
• Impact of pricing changes or promotions
• Whether average order size is growing or shrinking

Orders by Product Category

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show units sold and revenue by product type for the last quarter, grouped by month."

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What you get:

Visibility into which product categories drive your business:

• Raw materials vs. components vs. finished goods performance
• Category trends over time
• Inventory planning insights

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Customer Analysis for B2B

Understanding your B2B customer base helps with account management, pricing decisions, and sales focus.

Customer Concentration Analysis

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show total sales by customer for the last 12 months, sorted by sales descending, limit to top 20."

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What you get:

A view of revenue concentration:

• How much revenue comes from your top accounts
• Whether you're over-dependent on a few customers
• Which accounts represent growth opportunities

Repeat vs. New Customer Revenue

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Compare revenue from repeat customers vs. new customers by month for the last year."

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What you get:

Insight into customer retention:

• Is revenue growth coming from new accounts or existing ones?
• Are you retaining B2B customers effectively?
• Where should you focus acquisition vs. retention efforts?

Customer Purchase Frequency

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show average days between orders by customer for customers with more than 3 orders in the last 6 months."

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What you get:

Understanding of ordering patterns:

• Which customers order regularly vs. sporadically
• Opportunities for auto-replenishment or subscription offers
• Accounts that may be at risk if ordering frequency drops

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For more on customer segmentation, see Target Industrial Buyers Smarter: Segment Manufacturing Customers by Product Category.

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Product Performance Reports

Analyze how your products perform across your B2B customer base.

Units vs. Revenue Analysis

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show units sold, total revenue, and average selling price by product for the last quarter, sorted by units sold."

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What you get:

Product performance clarity:

• High-volume, low-margin products vs. low-volume, high-margin
• Products where pricing might need adjustment
• Inventory planning priorities

Product Performance by Customer Segment

If you've tagged customers by segment (distributor, contractor, OEM), you can analyze performance across groups:

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show revenue by product for customers tagged 'distributor' vs. customers tagged 'contractor' for the last 6 months."

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What you get:

Segment-specific insights:

• Which products resonate with which customer types
• Opportunities for targeted marketing by segment
• Product development priorities by customer type

Slow-Moving Inventory Identification

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show products with fewer than 10 units sold in the last 90 days, including current inventory quantity."

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What you get:

Inventory optimization data:

• Products that may need promotion or discontinuation
• Capital tied up in slow-moving stock
• Candidates for clearance pricing

Supplier and Vendor Analysis

If you track vendor information in Shopify (using the product vendor field), Sidekick can help analyze supplier performance through the lens of sales data.

Sales by Vendor

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show total sales, units sold, and number of orders by vendor for the last 6 months."

What you get:

Vendor contribution analysis:

• Which suppliers' products drive the most revenue
• Vendor diversification (or concentration risk)
• Data for vendor negotiations

Returns and Discounts by Vendor

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show returns and discounts by vendor for the last 6 months."

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What you get:

Quality and pricing insights:

• Vendors with higher return rates (potential quality issues)
• Products requiring frequent discounting
• Data to inform vendor performance discussions

Vendor Product Performance

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show average order value and units per order for products from vendor 'Acme Supplies' compared to vendor 'Beta Components'."

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What you get:

Comparative vendor analysis:

• Which vendors' products sell in larger quantities
• Average transaction size by vendor
• Portfolio optimization insights

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Fulfillment and Operations Reports

Track fulfillment performance using order status data available in Shopify.

Fulfillment Status Overview

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show order count by fulfillment status for the last 30 days."

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What you get:

Operational visibility:

• Orders pending fulfillment
• Fulfillment completion rates
• Backlog trends

Average Time to Fulfillment

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show average days from order to fulfillment by week for the last 3 months."

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What you get:

Fulfillment speed tracking:

• Whether fulfillment is speeding up or slowing down
• Impact of volume changes on fulfillment time
• Baseline data for operational improvements

Orders by Shipping Destination

Describe to Sidekick:

> "Show order count and total revenue by shipping country for the last year."

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What you get:

Geographic distribution:

• Where your B2B customers are located
• International vs. domestic business mix
• Market expansion opportunities

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For more on Shopify reporting capabilities, see Best Shopify Reports for Manufacturing Businesses.

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Refining and Customizing Reports

After Sidekick generates an initial report, you can refine it further.

Using Refine Query

Click Refine query in Sidekick to adjust:

• Date ranges: Change from last 90 days to last year, or specify exact dates
• Filters: Add conditions like "only orders over $1,000" or "only products in collection X"
• Groupings: Change from weekly to monthly, or group by different dimensions
• Sorting: Adjust sort order and limits

Example Refinement Prompts

After generating a base report:

> "Filter this to only include orders over $5,000."

> "Change the grouping from weekly to monthly."

> "Add a filter for customers tagged 'wholesale'."

> "Sort by revenue instead of units sold."

Saving and Organizing Reports

Save reports you'll use regularly:

1. Click Save after creating or refining a report
2. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Monthly Top Buyers by Volume")
3. Access saved explorations from Analytics > Reports

Consider organizing reports by function:

• Sales reports for the sales team
• Inventory reports for operations
• Customer reports for account management

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Exporting Data for External Analysis

Sometimes you need data outside Shopify for deeper analysis in BI tools or spreadsheets.

Export Options

Sidekick can export reports to:

• CSV: For spreadsheets and general use
• Parquet: For data warehouses and BI tools
• JSONL: For programmatic processing
• XML: For systems requiring XML format

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Note that export download links expire after a set period, so download promptly after generating.

When to Export vs. Use Sidekick

Use Sidekick in Shopify when:

• You need quick answers to business questions
• The visualization meets your needs
• You're sharing with team members who have Shopify access

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Export to external tools when:

• You need to combine Shopify data with data from other systems
• You require more advanced visualizations or analysis
• You're building dashboards that pull from multiple sources

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For integrating Shopify data with other systems, see Shopify ERP Integration Guide.

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Limitations and Workarounds

Production Metrics Not in Shopify

Sidekick reports on Shopify data. If you need to track:

• Machine utilization and downtime
• Production yield and scrap rates
• Work-in-progress inventory
• Manufacturing cycle times

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These metrics typically live in your ERP or MES. Options include:

1. Keep production reporting in your ERP: Use Sidekick for sales/order analytics, ERP for production analytics
2. Build integrated dashboards: Use a BI tool that pulls from both Shopify and your ERP
3. Explore integration apps: Some apps can sync ERP data into Shopify in reportable formats

Data Not Available in Analytics

Some Shopify data isn't available in the Analytics reporting context. If Sidekick can't generate a report you're requesting, the underlying data may not be accessible through ShopifyQL. In these cases, you may need to:

• Use Shopify's standard reports instead of custom explorations
• Export raw data via API for external analysis
• Use apps that provide additional reporting capabilities

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Getting Started with Sidekick Reports

Begin with reports that answer immediate business questions:

1. Start simple: Ask Sidekick for a basic report like "Show me top 10 customers by revenue last month"
2. Review and refine: Look at what Sidekick generates and refine if needed
3. Save useful reports: Keep reports you'll reference regularly
4. Build a library: Create a set of standard reports for different team needs
5. Check regularly: Schedule time to review key reports weekly or monthly

Sidekick makes custom reporting accessible without technical expertise. Describe what you want to know, and let it generate the ShopifyQL and visualizations. For B2B manufacturers, this means faster access to the sales and order insights that drive better decisions.

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