Thriving in the dynamic semiconductor industry

A global player in the chip industry wanted to reuse materials more. There were already initiatives, but there had to be coherence. The customer also wanted to set up a reverse supply chain. By streamlining all activities surrounding reuse, the company can save costs and make progress with its sustainability ambitions.

PwC experts made a plan for the ideal organization of reuse, with potential insights and results. How can the customer work towards that ideal? We designed a roadmap for the required projects, including scope, responsibilities, timelines, estimated staffing/costs, and potential benefits.

A global supplier of discrete and power semiconductors wanted to divest a production facility. The customer realized a third of the production in this factory. We helped think about the relocation of current and planned projects to other production locations and external manufacturers.

• PwC made a plan for relocating production. This included detailed project planning with required resources.
• Furthermore, we helped the customer to minimize production losses and maximize the factory's valuation.

The market share of two semicon companies in the high-tech laser business lagged far behind the market leaders. Would cooperation provide a solution? Both parties were keen to investigate this. Our specialists have examined the market potential. We also looked at the extent to which the technological capabilities of the parties complemented each other.

• In our analysis we identified potential areas of collaboration.
• We have estimated the profit per collaboration area with a business case.
• We also calculated an optimal scenario for business operations, with a sophisticated cost model.
• After this we were able to determine the best options for the partnership and make recommendations.

A foundry with a global presence wanted PwC experts to provide an opinion on its business strategy. It also wanted to know how its operational plan compared to that of other leading foundries. Which operational levers could be strengthened? After PwC made a series of recommendations, the company wanted to reach consensus on them throughout the organization.

• PwC organized executive workshops to prioritize the recommendations.
• We then created an implementation roadmap, with which the foundry can get started.

A top global chipmaker wanted to use big data more effectively in the development and manufacturing of chip technology. A number of initiatives had already been set up for this purpose, but how could they be forged into a strategic whole?

• PwC experts created a use case for data analysis and a data roadmap to implement the use case.
• We aligned key stakeholders on the strategy and required governance transformation.
• We also designed an operational model for data analysis. This allows the IDM to improve capabilities in this area and the return on investment.

A supplier of optical components – crucial to a leading semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer – came up for sale. The owner did not want the crucial technology to be adopted without a guarantee of supply continuity, ongoing technological developments and capacity expansion. The supplier was also active in other markets, including aerospace, photonics and the medical sector.

• We advised the semiconductor equipment manufacturer on the takeover of the supplier.
• Our experts supervised the sale of parts not related to the semiconductor industry.
• And we took care of the integration of the acquired part at our customer.

A system supplier to a semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer was seeking funding to expand. The system supplier consisted of a group of manufacturing companies serving different customers in different sectors and with different value propositions. PwC organized equity investments, loans and significant capital investments to enable the supplier to finance its growth plan.

An industrial products company wanted to improve business operations worldwide. The organization had to become more execution-oriented and agile. For example, functions with overlap had to be harmonized. All in all, an improved organizational structure could free up money for growth areas.

• PwC designed and implemented the new organizational structure. We harmonized the organization and processes, including roles & responsibilities and governance.
• The go-live with 16,000 employees was successful.
• This has freed up seven percent FTE for growth areas.

How do you ensure that the organization is ready for growth? A supplier of commercial and passenger cars was faced with this transformation question. The processes and maturity of the organization were insufficient to support growth, and inconsistent KPIs and disconnected systems made the organization less than transparent. Governance was also ineffective.

• PwC helped by aligning the scope and ambition level of the transformation with the company's vision.
• We conducted various work packages and implemented improvement measures.
• Top-line and bottom-line improved as a result, EBIT increased by approximately ten percent.

A leading automotive company, active in e-mobility, among other things, wanted to invest in a front-end Fab in Europe and a strategic R&D joint venture together with a semicon supplier. In addition, the customer wanted a strategy for back-end manufacturing.

• Our experts verified the feasibility of the project and made detailed business cases. We examined the technical, operational and financial side of the collaboration.
• Our customer was therefore successfully prepared for negotiations with the semicon supplier.
• Together the parties were able to use our analysis to find European funding and national incentives.