Towards Smart Production: Integrating Mobile Devices, IoT, and EPMS in Manufacturing

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often struggle with the high costs and complexities of executing comprehensive digital transformation. Fortunately, IoT and mobile technologies offer cost-effective solutions for system integration in such cases. There is a need for further research to explore the practical use of these technologies in assessing effectiveness through manageable, incremental integrations. This study examines this strategy via a case study at a printing company, concentrating on integrating iPads with an Enterprise Print Management System (EPMS) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These iPads enhance job management within the EPMS application, while IoT devices enable monitoring of energy consumption in reaal-time. Using a case study methodology, this research evaluates how these technologies improve workflow efficiency, provide access to live data, and enhance energy efficiency. The real-world application reveals how mobile technologies facilitate job scheduling, resource tracking, and production oversight, leading to measurable efficiency advancements through mobile access. This supports a shift from reactive to proactive operational strategies. Additionally, the findings contribute to ongoing discussions about system-level integration by showing the practicality of true digital convergence in SMEs. The study underscores the importance of a phased digital transformation approach, emphasising simplicity, modularity, and employee involvement. This research showcases how digital changes can foster cultural and operational shifts in manufacturing SMEs. It also adds to the knowledge on smart manufacturing and IoT-driven automation by focusing on the practical deployment of a mobile-centred EPMS ecosystem, utilising tools such as Microsoft Intune.