Hoshizaki Adds SIM Connectivity to Expand IoT Services for Commercial Equipment

Hoshizaki Corporation (Head office: Toyoake City, Aichi; President & CEO: Yasuhiro Kobayashi; hereafter “Hoshizaki”) will, starting January 5, 2027, add SIM connectivity as a new communication option for IoT-enabling commercial refrigerators and other equipment, expanding its cloud-based service (SaaS¹) for monitoring operating and temperature data. As part of this expansion, the service will be renamed from Hoshizaki Connect Wi-Fi to Hoshizaki Connect.　

Advancing the Existing Wi-Fi-Based IoT Service for Commercial Equipment

On January 5, 2024, Hoshizaki launched Hoshizaki Connect Wi-Fi, a service that fits commercial equipment with a Wi-Fi module so customers can monitor operating status remotely. The service was initially aimed at customers running multiple stores or facilities, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurant chains; large-volume foodservice operations including hospitals, meal providers, and hotels; and distribution centers. With labor shortages in the foodservice industry growing more severe, Hoshizaki is now adding SIM connectivity, which enables data collection even where Wi-Fi infrastructure is not available, in order to extend the service to independently owned restaurants where latent demand also exists.
 

Standard on All New Maintenance Lease Commercial Refrigerators and Walk-In Cold Storage Units

For customers looking to keep initial costs low, Hoshizaki offers a Maintenance Lease that covers scheduled inspections and complimentary repairs in the event of a breakdown. In conjunction with this service expansion, all new Maintenance Lease contracts for commercial refrigerators and walk-in cold storage units (refrigerators, freezers, and high humidity refrigerators) signed on or after January 5, 2027 will come with the SIM module pre-installed. Hoshizaki Connect will be included as a complimentary service, at no additional cost to the customer.
For customers who want a SIM but are not on a Maintenance Lease, retrofit installation is available on most products (with some exceptions). The only charges are the cost of the SIM module and the installation labor; no Hoshizaki Connect service fees are charged for the first 10 years after installation.
 

Equipment Reports That Are Easier to Understand

Earlier equipment reports presented detailed information such as cabinet temperatures, but customers often found them hard to interpret. Hoshizaki has therefore added a clearer four-level status rating (Normal, Maintenance Needed, Inspection Required, and Fault) along with explanatory comments. Hoshizaki’s nationwide network of approximately 2,800 service staff will use this detailed equipment data to deliver higher-value service, including recommending more efficient operating and management practices during scheduled inspections.
At the end of the standard Maintenance Lease term² of seven years, Hoshizaki will be able to draw on operating data accumulated during the contract to analyze usage trends and recommend the optimal next step for each customer (such as equipment replacement or lease extension) based on actual usage patterns.

Building Greater Service Value by Aggregating Data from More Equipment

Hoshizaki holds a domestic market share of 44.4%³ in commercial refrigerators, giving Hoshizaki Connect access to data from a vast installed base. Drawing on data already accumulated from Wi-Fi module-equipped units, the company has begun analyses that combine AI with Hoshizaki’s technical expertise to predict breakdowns and identify their likely causes. Going forward, Hoshizaki will continue to accumulate data and conduct large-scale big data analysis, applying the results to higher-value proposals for customers, more accurate breakdown prediction, and future product development. 
 

About Hoshizaki Connect

Hoshizaki Connect is a cloud-based service (SaaS) that uses a Wi-Fi or SIM communication module to IoT-enable commercial refrigerators and other equipment, monitoring operating and temperature data on cloud servers. Customers can use a PC, tablet, smartphone, or other device to check, manage, and record equipment operating status and temperatures in real time, anytime and anywhere, over the internet. Alert thresholds and the recipients of equipment error notifications are fully configurable, enabling remote monitoring without having to see the equipment’s own display. The system can also automatically generate the temperature logs and HFC management inspection records that are required by law⁴ as spreadsheet files at the click of an on-screen button, reducing the handwriting and data entry previously required.
 

1    Software as a Service. Software provided by a service provider that can be used over the internet without being installed. 
2    Lease terms vary by contract.
3    Domestic share (%) (units), calculated by Hoshizaki using FY2025 (April 2025–March 2026) domestic shipment volumes that Hoshizaki reports to The Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA) as the numerator, and FY2024 domestic shipment volumes from JRAIA’s voluntary statistics as the denominator.
4    The revised Food Sanitation Act requires food businesses to document and retain sanitation management records in line with HACCP, and the Act on Rational Use and Proper Management of Fluorocarbons (Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Act) requires that an inspection form be prepared for equipment using regulated CFCs, HCFCs, or HFCs. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is a sanitation management tool in which food providers themselves identify hazards such as food poisoning and admixture of foreign substances, and then manage the particularly important processes for removing or reducing those hazards across every stage from reception of raw materials to shipment of the product, thereby ensuring product safety.
 

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