Semiconductor Manufacturing Industry

Answer to Chip Shortage Issues

Semiconductor chips are growing more crucial every day. Yet despite unprecedented demand, there are shortages across many industries—including automotive—that rely on these critical components. To respond to the combined opportunity and challenge, the semiconductor manufacturing industry must adapt in many ways.

Leaders are already engaging in digital transformation and taking market share from companies that lag behind. Without an investment in this type of transformation, the growing demand for chips will not be met and shortages will become the norm—and your organization will miss out on potential profits.

Urgent Needs: Securing Capacity and Speeding Time-to-Market

To meet growing demand, manufacturers must build or secure capacity for a manufacturing process that has many, many steps, requiring serialized tracking and visibility into ”work in process” from beginning to end. The time required to ramp up a manufacturing process is an added concern when new product introductions are rapidly increasing in volume. Time-to-market is the driver for realizing profits. Visibility and data-sharing across internal and external manufacturing are required to solve issues faster and minimize cost impacts when challenges arise, both of which can help companies realize margins sooner.

Fabless Production Model Growth

Many companies that have thrived with in-house manufacturing are moving toward a fabless, outsourced model or leveraging a combination of the two. Along with the advantages of this transition come the challenges of establishing the same visibility and control with external systems as internal ones. Compliance and quality are just as important—and more difficult to attain—for outsourced operations as internal systems. The ideal scenario is to gain a holistic view of the entire multi-enterprise business with integrated operations, manufacturing and quality systems, regardless of whether manufacturing takes place within or outside your four walls.

Decision-Grade Data from Inside and Outside the Company

A single source of truth provides reliable data for business decision-making, but this isn’t easily obtained without a holistic view across the end-to-end value chain. With visibility into all manufacturing, quality and inventory systems—internal and external—as well as channel data to get closer to customer demand, the e2open platform collects, cleanses and harmonizes all data to drive better and more confident decisions.

Strong Market Outlook and Partnering Opportunities

If investment by capital markets is any indicator of expected growth, the semiconductor industry is certain to continue on its growth trajectory. Collaboration takes on greater meaning as companies prepare to address new markets and customers. More partnering across the value chain around opportunities such as application-specific solutions will advance the growth of the industry and even further necessitate connectivity with all supply chain trading partners.

Diversification Requires Agility

Over recent years, supply chain diversification has become a priority. Forward-thinking companies in the semiconductor industry are exploring options for adding new suppliers to lower risk, localization to spread sourcing and manufacturing to regions near and far, and collaboration with customers to coinvent new product introductions. e2open’s platform for supply chain connectivity and end-to-end solutions is helping companies adapt so they can make the necessary changes and build supply chain resilience in order to meet financial targets and satisfy growing demand.