Spare Parts Supply Chain Management: A Case Study of A Semiconductor Equipment Supplier

• Main Authors: Edward Tjan, 陳德華
• Other Authors: Anthony F. Han
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/05938440579268252742

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 管理學院高階主管管理碩士學程 === 95 === The semiconductor equipment spare parts supply chain has highly uncertain demand and supply. Its characteristic is quite different from that of electronics and IT product supply chains more commonly found in Taiwan. It must provide high level of responsiveness in order to satisfy its customer needs. However, responsiveness comes at a cost. Should the cost for achieving highly responsive supply chain become too high, the company's competitiveness will be impacted. Is it possible for the semiconductor equipment supplier to lower the cost in the supply chain while maintaining or even increasing its high level of responsiveness? Is there a systematic approach to achieve such goal? This research used case study method in an attempt to discover the answers to the fore-mentioned questions. The company in this case study is a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment to worldwide semiconductor industry. To support the competitive strategy of its equipment products, its supply chain strategy must ensure high level of responsiveness in its spare parts supply chain. However, the supply chain performance started to degrade at the end of 20th century�oincreased cost of sales, high level of inventory with low inventory turn and unstable service level performance. From 2000 through 2003, the company implemented multiple initiatives in an effort to improve its supply chain’s performance. This research utilized “Supply Chain Decision-Making Framework” proposed by Chopra & Meindl [1] to analyze the supply chain problems and initiatives in this case, in order to validate the applicability of this framework. A quantitative analysis was conducted on 2004~2006 data after the initiatives were implemented. It showed significant improvements in both cost and responsiveness: 1.Reduced cost of sales: 64% of revenue in 2003 to 53% in 2006 2.Reduced inventory: US$644 millions in 2002 to US$383 millions in 2005 3.Improved inventory turn: 1.2 in 2002 to 2.0 in 2005 4.Improved service level: unstable performance in 1999~2001 to 97%~99% in 2003 and afterwards, significantly exceeding the commitment of 92%. The successful application of “supply chain macro processes” and “supply chain performance drivers” in the analysis of this case proved the validity of the research framework. Finally, three recommendations were proposed�othe expansion of supply chain decision-making framework, the application of the initiatives discussed in this case to other industries and suggestion for further study.