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ManageMent
www.us-tech.com Proactive Asset Management is Revolutionizing the Semiconductor Industry By Mike Zunino, Director of Semiconductor, EquipNet, Inc. T
he redeployment, sale and pur- chase of second-hand equip- ment is becoming more com-
mon for semiconductor businesses. Semiconductor industry sales in 2016 amounted to $327.2 billion and this is expected to rise by around 2 percent in 2017 to $333.7 billion and by a further 2.2 percent in 2018 to $340.9 billion. As the market continues to grow,
businesses are always looking for new ways to expand while keeping a lid on their costs. The second-hand industry allows
companies to identify, track and inter- nally redeploy equipment, as well as to buy and sell assets. This means that they can obtain returns on products that were purchased new, gain from high-quality but less-expensive instru- mentation, or ensure unused equip-
ment does not sit idle and is repur- posed to another site.
Vast Changes The semiconductor market has
experienced broad changes during recent years. This includes mergers and acquisitions, which means that assets then need to be assessed and decisions made about which machin- ery to keep or sell. However, selling or repurposing equipment does mean that company executives have less time to focus on their business re- sponsibilities.
Decision-making, asset configu-
ration, capability review and project management can therefore mean that both the logging of assets and the sale process can take months and put managers under pressure. During an acquisition or merg-
er, site and factory closures can also add to the pressure, and it is there- fore important that the transition is quick and easy. Proactive asset man- agement can provide a vital solution, allowing identification of assets from the acquiring and acquired company and in-depth information about this equipment. Expert asset management com-
panies, such as EquipNet, have expe- rience in overcoming instrumenta- tion management challenges and can provide businesses with comprehen- sive solutions to the issues mergers or acquisitions bring. EquipNet has introduced a cus-
tom-built solution for dealing with these challenges in the form of its As- set Redeployment Management Sys- tem (ARMS). The process of in- stalling an ARMS system begins with a trained and experienced team visiting all of a company’s facilities to inspect and document excess or idle production, lab, metrology, and test and measurement equipment, among others.
Once the information has been
obtained it is uploaded to a compa- ny’s ARMS platform, which allows authorized employees to access the information, location and status of all instrumentation. This allows them to make real-time decisions for redeployment from one site to anoth- er, as well as list unwanted assets for sale. Should a company wish to rede- ploy or buy equipment, EquipNet will arrange the crating, shipping, exportation, and importation docu- mentation.
EquipNet’s value control model
is based on time and ensures trans- parency of instrumentation across a business. Redeployment, negotiated sales with managed pricing and com- petitive auctions are all methods for gaining returns from equipment and balance the needs of both buyers and sellers. Should assets have little or no market value, clearance, disposal and scrap programs are also avail- able for use by customers, with EquipNet’s advice.
Benefits of Asset Management As more new companies enter
the instrumentation auction market, more challenges have occurred, such as conflicting information regarding the market value of equipment. Data regarding the number of instruments readily available can also often be in- correct. This has been brought about by the implementation of ghost mar- kets, where a number of companies are advertising instrumentation
owned by only one business. This means the market value of this equipment will be reduced and simi- lar equipment for sale in the future will also have a lower market value. Skewed valuation of equipment
can also mean that buyers will find themselves paying well over the true market value for an instrument. Fur- ther examples of difficulties encoun- tered with the second-hand market include the story of an end-user who purchased machinery online, only to discover that they had bought an ex- cess piece of equipment from their own company, which had been laying idle at another site. Asset management programs
are therefore of huge importance as they allow the buyers to obtain infor- mation about the location of both a piece of equipment and a seller, and details such as whether equipment is still under warranty. Critical services such as refurbishment and installa- tion are also available with an asset management provider. Should end- users utilize an asset management partner, they will be provided with ex- perience, transparency and reliabili- ty, which is needed when dealing with the secondary equipment market. The semiconductor market is
continuing to grow while the number of mergers and acquisitions are in- creasing. It is therefore crucially im- portant that companies have accu- rate information regarding their as- sets, which can be easily accessed. Asset management services ensure this data can be effortlessly accrued and stored, and programs such as ARMS will do this, allowing employ- ees to concentrate on their business responsibilities. Furthermore, buying and selling
equipment through an asset manage- ment partner can allow sellers to ob- tain a fair return on their idle instru- ments and ensure buyers can acquire good quality equipment for the best possible price. Finally, following this process, companies such as EquipNet will deal with the transportation of machinery, as well as the transfer of warranty, if applicable. EquipNet will support any company’s requirements in this area and its 170 employees across regions including North Amer- ica, Latin America, Europe and Asia will ensure maximum returns with- out the hassle or use of internal busi-
ness resources. Contact: EquipNet, Inc., 5 Dan
Road, Canton, MA 02021 % 781-821-3482 fax: 617-671-1269 E-mail:
sales@equipnet.com Web:
www.equipnet.com r
July, 2017
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