Why smart factories, real-time data, and wireless sensors are defining the next era of operational excellence.
If your operations still rely on fragmented data, gut instinct, or "the way we've always done it," you already know that you’re behind. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology, once a futuristic buzzword, is actively rewriting how manufacturers and supply chain leaders compete.
From predictive maintenance to real-time energy monitoring, IIoT delivers the kind of visibility and agility that spreadsheets and legacy systems simply can’t.
It’s become a sprint for businesses to outmaneuver their competitors, adopting IIoT technology before others capture the efficiency, resilience, and profitability that the manufacturing industry is largely leaving on the table.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a new wave of productivity for manufacturers. With this approach, physical assets like machines, equipment, and sensors connect to cloud-based software platforms that capture and analyze data in real time. IIoT is the engine behind smart factories, automated workflows, and predictive maintenance systems
Unlike consumer IoT, which focuses on convenience (think smart homes or fitness trackers), IIoT is all about operational excellence: increasing uptime, reducing waste, and unlocking performance gains at scale.
Read more about Making Logistics Smarter with IoT.
Manufacturers use IIoT to track equipment health, monitor energy consumption, forecast maintenance needs, and streamline production lines. In broader supply chain logistics, IIoT powers everything from fleet tracking to dynamic route optimization. With connected sensors feeding real-time data into modern ERP systems, decision-makers—with the power to act instantly on insights—get a bird’s-eye view of operations.
That means competitors are already using IIoT to:
Source: AWS Blog: How Siemens Energy Uses AWS for Its IIoT Platform and Smart Manufacturing
Industrial IoT is transforming the factory floor, distribution centers, and every mile in between.
Forward-thinking manufacturers are using IIoT to their advantage in four key areas:
Instead of reacting to machine failures, IIoT helps teams predict them. Wireless vibration and temperature sensors detect subtle changes in equipment performance, triggering service before breakdowns occur.
For example, Boers & Co, a Dutch precision manufacturer, uses Epicor IoT integrated with Microsoft Azure to detect early signs of machine degradation and schedule proactive maintenance before issues escalate. This reduces unplanned downtime while keeping productivity on track.
Read the full Boers & Co. Epicor customer success story.
Sensors provide real-time visibility into the location, condition, and utilization of critical assets, from forklifts and containers to robotic arms. This reduces loss, increases utilization, and shortens cycle times. Companies are also using IoT-enabled RTLS (real-time location systems) for smarter warehouse operations (Ubisense).
At Star Lumber, the data-driven inventory and tracking capabilities in Epicor solutions give teams precise insight into where their materials are at all times, from the distribution center to the lumber yard.
Previously, special orders were difficult to monitor, leading to delays and misplacements. Today, the team can locate and manage every product in motion with confidence, improving efficiency and order accuracy across all three business divisions.
Read more about how Star Lumber used a robust and integrated ERP to achieve record-breaking growth.
Whether it's monitoring compressed air usage or real-time heat flow, IIoT gives companies precise control over energy consumption. This is key for meeting ESG targets and cutting operational costs, especially in energy-intensive industries.
As a real-world example, Siemens Energy uses IIoT to monitor pressured air, heat, and water flow, helping Siemens meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
With its ability to continually monitor temperature, humidity, and other critical storage variables, IIoT has a pivotal role in quality assurance and compliance. The technology helps ensure guideline adherence and product consistency, especially in food, pharmaceuticals, and electronics manufacturing.
Many companies are repeating the benefits. BMW employs edge AI algorithms to monitor equipment performance and detect anomalies in real time.
Coca-Cola also uses edge AI to catch product deviations in real time, helping ensure that every bottle, label, and packaging component meets strict quality and safety standards, with greater consistency than human inspectors. This reduces the risk of recalls, supports regulatory compliance, and protects consumer trust.
Wireless sensors are the unsung heroes of IIoT. They collect the data that powers everything from predictive algorithms to digital twins. With no need for hardwiring or complex retrofits, they’re especially well-suited for brownfield environments where updating legacy infrastructure is impractical or too expensive.
There’s been an explosion in adoption: The global wireless industrial IoT sensor market is expected to grow from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $12.4 billion by 2034, fueled by Industry 4.0 investments and AI integration.
Different types of sensors serve different roles:
Wireless connectivity types—such as LPWAN, Zigbee, Bluetooth, and 5G—allow organizations to tailor their networks based on range, power needs, and data transfer requirements
These sensors feed data directly into ERP and MES platforms like Epicor, helping organizations shift from reactive to proactive in everything from production to procurement.
While some companies are dipping their toes in the water when it comes to IIoT logistics, others have taken the full-on plunge.
Siemens Energy is a standout example of what's possible with smart, connected infrastructure.
Faced with the challenge of siloed machine protocols and aging assets across 80+ factories, Siemens deployed a standardized IIoT platform built on AWS.
As a result, they unlocked real-time visibility into energy usage, enabled predictive maintenance on high-value equipment, and reduced downtime across global sites. Their setup even enables factory teams to identify anomalies in CNC machines, robots, and autonomous vehicles—all with a 15% improvement in asset availability (AWS).
Merle Norman Cosmetics, meanwhile, slashed $6 million in inventory costs by using real-time ERP data to optimize procurement and production schedules. The company's shift to a cloud-first ERP with AI-powered analytics illustrates how data visibility translates into real-world savings (ERP Today).
Beyond the sensors and hardware, IIoT transforms raw sensor data into real-time business intelligence for ERP and MES systems.
ERP systems like Epicor Kinetic serve as the backbone of manufacturing operations, consolidating data for production, inventory, energy usage, workforce, financials, and more. When integrated with IIoT, the result is a live, end-to-end view of manufacturing and supply chain operations.
MES (Manufacturing Execution System), on the other hand, helps control and monitor production processes. Pairing MES with IIoT enables dynamic scheduling, live quality control, and immediate responsiveness to shop floor conditions.
For example:
These integrations are especially valuable as manufacturers deal with rising tariffs and supply chain volatility. When tariffs drive up hardware costs by 5–20%, real-time agility and predictive insights are vital.
The 2025 tariff landscape has turned cost efficiency into a survival strategy. U.S. tariffs on imported IoT components—ranging from 15% to 145%—are squeezing margins across manufacturing, telecom, and supply chain sectors. The 145% figure went into effect April 9, 2025, but was later lowered to 30% in mid-May for a 90-day tariff reset period.
It’s unclear what future rates will (or won’t come) to pass, but rapid, volatile shifts underscore the need for manufacturers to seize control wherever they can in their supply chains. IIoT-powered ERP systems allow manufacturers to master their data and optimize costs where they can, regardless of price hikes or tariff disruptions hitting the balance sheet.
Such ability to monitor and respond instantly to anomalies can help reduce waste, shrink downtime, and extend the life of critical assets. For manufacturers facing unpredictable sourcing and shipping delays, this responsiveness is a survival imperative.
Don’t miss our VP’s take: How Tariffs Impact Supply Chains—and Waht Business Leaders Can Do About It.
Security is foundational to IIoT. As the attack surface expands with every sensor and connected device, cybersecurity concerns have become one of the top barriers to IIoT adoption (Exactitude Consultancy).
That’s why standards like those in NIST’s updated IoT security guidelines (NIST IR 8259r1) are game-changers. The new framework urges manufacturers to adopt secure-by-design practices, address vulnerabilities post-market, and communicate clearly with customers about device security and end-of-life plans (CSRC NIST).
End-to-end security, from edge devices to cloud analytics, is critical in industries like aerospace, medical manufacturing, and energy, where a single breach could compromise safety and regulatory compliance.
Smart manufacturers are responding by:
A trusted IIoT ecosystem can reduce risk and accelerate buy-in from IT teams, executive leadership, and investors alike.
IIoT doesn’t have to mean ripping out legacy systems or hiring a room full of data scientists. At Epicor, we help manufacturers and supply chain leaders integrate IoT data into the workflows they already use—with the ERP they already have in place.
Our cloud-first platform is built to ingest sensor data from the edge, apply AI-driven insights, and serve up alerts, dashboards, and automation directly when and where your teams need them. From predictive maintenance to compliance-ready reporting, Epicor makes IIoT usable, scalable, and secure.
With Epicor, you can reduce waste, rework, and downtime, increase throughput without sacrificing quality, and future-proof operations against unknown turbulence.
The IIoT opportunity is here, and so are the challenges: Tariffs. Cyber threats. Cost pressure. Regulatory complexity. The time to act is now.
Let Epicor help you make industrial IoT work for your business. Our experts can show you what’s possible with connected workflows, secure edge integration, and ERP systems that are built for manufacturing.
Book a personalized demo today. Get a free peek at what Epicor can do to transform your business.
