Semiconductor Supply Chain Planning
Semiconductor plans commit wafer starts and outside capacity months before customers order, and short supply has to be shared out by rule. DemandLabs plans fab, assembly and test capacity on one model and allocates each shortage by customer tier and contract.
What Shapes Semiconductors Planning
Semiconductor planning commits scarce, expensive capacity against demand that swings with the cycle.
Wafers Start Long Before Orders
A wafer spends weeks in the fab and more in assembly and test, and yield sets how many good die it returns. Customers order on shorter lead times, so starts follow a forecast.
Capacity Is Booked Quarters Ahead
Fabless companies, and many chipmakers with their own fabs, buy wafers from foundries and assembly and test from outside partners, often on capacity commitments made quarters ahead.
Orders Inflate When Supply Is Tight
When lead times stretch, customers order more than they need and from more than one source. When supply loosens, those orders are cut and inventory piles up across the channel.
Solutions for Semiconductors
The DemandLabs applications that fit semiconductors, and how each one handles the planning.
Wafer starts at your own fabs, foundry wafers and outside assembly and test plan in one finite-capacity solve. When output falls short, the split follows customer tier and contract, with a fill rate for each customer in the plan.
Explore supply planningDie bank and finished goods buffers come from one multi-echelon solve, refreshed weekly from measured demand and lead-time variability, with the inventory each service target needs shown before you commit.
Explore inventory optimizationSales teams enter customer forecasts as edits to one consensus forecast, and each edit is scored against the model baseline, so inflated requests show up in forecast value add.
Explore demand planningThe sources behind your wafer, substrate, gas and chemical suppliers are mapped where your data reaches, and single sources are flagged. A scenario with a foundry or test site offline shows the revenue at stake.
Explore supplier riskHow Semiconductors Planning Connects
Each wafer start links to the die bank, the finished parts and the customer commitments it serves.
Booking Forecast
- Customer forecasts
- Backlog
- Design wins
Wafer Starts
- Fab capacity
- Foundry commitments
- Cycle time
Assembly and Test
- Die bank
- Test capacity
- Outside partners
Shortage Rules
- Customer tiers
- Contract commitments
- Fill rates
Margin and Commitments
- Margin by product
- Reserved capacity
- Inventory value
Built for Semiconductors
Semiconductor planning commits capacity and inventory well ahead of the orders it serves.
Capacity Commitments Compared on Cash
Foundry and test commitments are compared as scenarios on P&L, cash and service in the S&OP review, before anyone signs.
One Model for S&OP and Starts
The capacity view in the S&OP review and the detailed wafer start plan come from the same model and the same constraints.
Die Bank as a Buffer Point
Holding stock as die lets the same wafers serve several package options, and the buffer there is sized from your own demand and lead-time history.
Inflated Requests Measured
Customer forecast changes entered by sales are scored against the model baseline each cycle, so padded requests are visible.
Planning Notes for Semiconductors
See all notes
How to size a take or pay commitment you can actually consume
Why the headline discount tier is often the worst commitment to sign, how to price a take or pay shortfall before agreeing it, and which clauses change the arithmetic.
17 September 20269 min read
Where to hold the buffer, once you accept you cannot hold it everywhere
Multi-echelon inventory optimization stops every node buffering the same variability: guaranteed service, stochastic service, and the inputs that decide it.
23 August 20269 min read
A scenario that does not move cash is a slide
Supply chain scenario planning that moves cash: overlay scenarios instead of copies, financial measures declared in the model, committing the winner.
22 August 20269 min readSemiconductors Planning FAQs
Can DemandLabs plan foundry and outside assembly capacity?
Foundries and outside assembly and test partners enter the solve as capacity next to your own fabs, each with its own lead times and minimum run sizes.
Who gets supply when output falls short?
Your allocation rules split short output by customer tier and contract, and account teams see each customer's fill rate before they confirm what can ship.
Can we test a fab or test site going offline?
A scenario takes a site or lane offline and shows the service and revenue impact, along with the products and customers that depend on it.
How long does implementation take?
Eight weeks to the first live cycle for one planning area, with a value review with your CFO in week 10.
More High Tech Segments
All high tech planningSee Fab and Test Capacity on One Plan
A 45-minute walkthrough on your own data.