Implementing technology roadmapping with supplier selection for semiconductor manufacturing companies

The rapid pace of technological innovation in the semiconductor manufacturing industry has necessitated the acquisition of competitive advantage from strategic technology planning. The vital requisite for this is well-timed investment including the replacement of old equipment with advanced new equipment. In such investment, selecting the appropriate semiconductor manufacturing equipment from the appropriate supplier is a key factor for successful technology planning. Therefore, equipment supplier selection should be taken into account in the technology planning of semiconductor manufacturing companies. One of the most widely used tools for technology planning is the technology roadmap (TRM). However, conventional TRMs have not considered the task of supplier selection. To address this limitation, this study proposes an extended, four-layered TRM that adds the layer of equipment supplier to the conventional layers of market, product, and technology. The equipment suppliers to be included in the new layer are selected from the supplier portfolio matrix composed of two performance axes: supplier performance and equipment performance. The candidates of equipment suppliers are placed on the supplier portfolio matrix according to the values of two axes determined by evaluation using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The proposed TRM is expected to be useful for technology planning by adding a consideration for equipment supplier selection in semiconductor manufacturing companies.