When can an early technology decision create a risk conundrum? When you’re a semiconductor company that implemented MES a decade ago or more. You now face the decision of whether to stick with an outdated legacy system or migrate to current MES. Julie Fraser explores this risk conundrum in her second of three guest blog posts for the semiconductor industry.
Semiconductor company risks are high, and those for production are as well. While keeping with the old familiar system may seem the safer choice, it poses enormous risk. Particularly as the semiconductor industry continues to power forward with new products, applications, and markets. The uncertainty in demand is only increasing, and fabs and backend sites must keep up by becoming more agile and higher-mix.
The overall business risks are high in this time of change. The risks of technical debt from heavily customized, no-longer-supported MES include disconnected data, inability to confidently run test lots, support burdens, IT, and staffing challenges.
This article also points out that while the risks of migrating to a new MES in a current facility are substantial, they are lower than in the past. These risks are short-term and only possible, while risks of staying with the status quo older MES are long-term, persistent, guaranteed risks that current workforce shortages exacerbate.
Read the blog to learn what to look for in a new MES to ease the migration and minimize the risk. Thank you to Eyelit for the opportunity to share our views.
For related content, read Julie Fraser’s guest blog post on Eyelit to learn why redefining semiconductor MES is essential to support the next 30 years of semiconductor progress.