At the beginning of industrial automation, the options for connectivity were limited compared to the systems available in 2024. The automation paradigm was characterized by the prevalence of isolated and proprietary systems, leading to a deficiency in interoperability and a lack of open and standardized communication frameworks. The Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) study reveals a shortage of research on how manufacturing can transition from conventional models to interconnected and virtual due to less availability of financial resources compared to the larger ones. However, there is a heightened attention to SMEs, which can be attributed to the fact that these enterprises constitute the vast majority of businesses in most countries. The current work aims to guide a medium sawmill to digitization designing and planning for a modern interconnected ecosystem. The new architecture is composed of concepts of the international standard ISA-95 model, middleware software architecture, and communication protocols for components enabling interoperability and flexibility. The overall system brings a new perspective to the business operation, focusing on improving its manufacturing and logistics transparency.