SEMI 2020: Transforming for the New Supply Chain

2015 will be remembered mostly for the ‘wild ride’ that fundamentally changed the industry. An unprecedented wave of M&A activity swept across the electronics supply chain with scores of transactions and with notable multi-billion dollar companies being absorbed. As a result, in 2016, we are working within a significantly reshaped supply chain. To support this, we have launched the SEMI 2020 initiative.

Providing focused, global platforms for industry collaboration has long been a primary objective for SEMI. Faced with a longer, wider supply chain and additional industry stakeholders at the table, we have to develop new, innovative ways of working together. Customers’ customers’ customers are now routinely part of the collaboration, and understanding their needs and their impact on our members is imperative.

SEMI is adapting to these realities by providing new forums for collaboration, developing new communities within the SEMI membership, and focusing action in Special Interest Groups (SIGs). SEMI is concentrating more deeply than ever on providing its members with opportunities for growth and for enabling members’ prosperity.

To put this in perspective, I’d like to update you on our SEMI 2020 vision and strategic plan and give you some insights into steps we’ve taken and where we’re going to ensure SEMI best serves its members — and will serve the needs of our members in 2020 and beyond.

SEMI International Board of Directors Guidance
In July 2015, SEMI’s International Board of Directors (BOD) reviewed SEMI’s 2020 plan. In addition to approving SEMI’s plan, the BOD provided specific follow-on guidance. First, SEMI’s mission, vision, and 2020 strategic focus areas:

Mission — our focus for the next five years
- SEMI provides industry stewardship and engages our members to advance the interests of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain.
Vision — what we stand for
- SEMI promotes the development of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain and positively influences the growth and prosperity of its members. SEMI advances the mutual business interests of its membership and promotes a free and open global marketplace.
Members’ Growth — 2020 strategic focus
- SEMI enables member growth opportunities by evolving SEMI communities and building new communities across the global electronics manufacturing supply chain via cooperation, partnerships, and integration.
Members’ Prosperity — 2020 strategic focus
- SEMI enables members to prosper by building extended supply chain collaboration forums providing opportunities to increase value while optimizing the supply chain for SEMI members.

SEMI’s International BOD gave the following specific follow-on direction:

Evolve SEMI to become more central to the extended electronics manufacturing supply chain (figure below)
Provide distinct value propositions for big and Small & Medium sized Enterprises (SME) members
Increase depth and relevance of non-exposition products.
Evolve SEMICON platforms

This direction is provided to enhance SEMI’s six basic activities:

Recent SEMI Results

The number of SEMI Member companies increased to more than 2,000 as of July 1, 2016. In 2015, worldwide SEMICON expositions hosted about 4,040 exhibitors, 136,660 unique registered attendees, and 218,600 total visitors (includes registered attendees and attending exhibitors). SEMICON expositions continue to be the leading gathering places for SEMI communities. And in response to SEMI’s changing membership, we introduced innovative programs, introduced new segments and changed exposition venues to reflect an increasingly diverse SEMI membership.

Here are a few other noteworthy developments:

FlexTech joined SEMI as SEMI’s first Strategic Association Partner
SEMI Special Interest Groups — Chemical and Gases Manufacturers Group (CGMG), FlexTech, SEMI integrated Packaging and Test (SiPAT), Semiconductor Components, Instruments & Subsystems (SCIS), etc. — are integrating and engaging broad segments of the supply chain
SEMI automation Standards were updated and made applicable to Smart Manufacturing, Industry 4.0
Improved social media channels
New market data products such as FabView (online fab database), 200mm report, packaging materials report
New events such as SEMI European MEMS conference, FLEX Korea, and FLEX Europe
Expanded mandate for SEMI Foundation to widen scope of Workforce Development
Growth in SEMICON expositions in China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan
ITA, Export Control, and Tax Credit legislation wins

Expanding on the top two points, the partnerships with FlexTech and Smart Manufacturing; these are major milestones that both illustrate the SEMI 2020 activities and will develop over the next five years.

FlexTech Alliance is SEMI’s first Strategic Association Partner. A guiding strategy for SEMI 2020 is to bring growth opportunities to SEMI members. By linking FlexTech to SEMI through a special interest group (SIG) community, SEMI members gain access to an emerging market area that combines ICs with novel disruptive manufacturing techniques. In turn, the FlexTech community gains access to SEMI’s global infrastructure and Standards platform to develop the community’s worldwide capability.

FlexTech is devoted to fostering the growth, profitability and success of the Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) supply chain and the many application areas enabled by this new class of electronic intelligence. FlexTech offers expanded collaboration between and among industry, academia, and research organizations for advancing flexible, printed electronics from R&D to commercialization.

SEMI is also moving forward quickly on Smart Manufacturing. Smart Manufacturing encompasses networked factory IoT (IIoT) devices and Industry 4.0 concepts such as and highly interoperable, self-diagnosing, and adaptive factories. SEMI member factories were using Smart Manufacturing concepts well before the term “Industry 4.0” was minted. With more than 950 published SEMI Standards and an entire suite of specifications addressing interoperability, automation, and data acquisition, SEMI members have been pioneers in this area. SEMI has refocused its related automation standards under a Smart Manufacturing organizing principal and is beginning to engage other industries and Standards bodies in the pursuit of a wider adoption of SEMI Standards while forestalling other, less applicable standards, being mandated for SEMI member factories.

I hope this provides an overview of how SEMI is evolving to ready itself for 2020 and gives a flavor of some specific activities that are underway to support our members. We’ll continue to pursue SEMI 2020 strategies within the three pillars: re-energizing our base membership, building communities and collaboration, and evolving SEMI’s value propositions to the industry’s 2020 needs.

We understand the industry has changed and will continue to change, and we want SEMI to remain central and relevant to all of our members, large, medium and small. We are grateful to serve the industry and to be entrusted with bringing growth opportunities to our members, enable members’ prosperity, and harness the collective action of our membership to solve issues and remove barriers to collective, sustained success now and in the future. Follow SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you for your trust.