Moov, a global marketplace for used semiconductor equipment, announced the release of its new Equipment Management Software (EMS) for semiconductor manufacturers. Moov’s Equipment Management Software helps manufacturers track and understand what equipment assets they own across fabrication centers (fabs), the condition of these tools, and the resale value of these assets based on data from Moov’s global marketplace.
Today, semiconductor manufacturers have limited insight into the equipment they own across fabs, its condition, and how to maximize its value once it is considered depreciated and/or has outlived its initial production line.
In building EMS, Moov will continue to help manufacturers operationalize a more data-driven approach to deciding how to leverage idle or underutilized capital equipment – whether that means transferring equipment between fabs, scrapping equipment, selling parts, or selling whole systems to maximize the lifetime value of these assets.
“Semiconductor manufacturers have neither the tools nor the data to make informed decisions on what to do with capital equipment assets that may be depreciated on their books but still have real market value,” said Moov cofounder and CEO, Steven Zhou. “Moov’s Equipment Management Software helps manufacturers gain a unified view of their equipment across fabs and augments equipment data with marketplace data pulling from millions of data points on pricing, supply, demand, geography, installed base, and more to help chipmakers make strategic decisions on how to maximize the value of these financial assets based on true market conditions.”
To help manufacturers simplify the process of deploying EMS across fabs, Moov is offering free equipment audits and data onboarding. Moov will audit and inspect tools across a manufacturer’s fabs, and document tool make, model, location, condition, and specifications in the EMS. Once a manufacturer’s assets are tracked in the EMS, the system will automatically pull in data on pricing and demand from Moov’s global marketplace for used semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Manufacturers can then leverage this holistic view of their assets, which are indexed and easily searchable across locations, to decide what to do with underutilized equipment and parts. If manufacturers decide to sell assets, they can easily do so in 2-clicks through a direct integration with Moov’s global resale marketplace.
“We’re taking all of the legwork out of implementing a holistic system for tracking semiconductor manufacturing equipment across fabs, in order to empower manufacturers to reduce waste and redundancies, more quickly respond to shifting needs from fab to fab, and maximize the value of assets that may have hitherto been considered a write-off but have substantial market value,” said Zhou.
Historically, what to do with depreciated equipment has been considered an afterthought by chipmakers as the process of reselling equipment was onerous and fragmented, and the resale value of equipment low. However, equipment delays and shortages of the pandemic era, the rising demand for 200mm capacity, and changing procurement habits of manufacturers to diversify their capital equipment supply chains, have led to a surge in the resale value of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. At the same time, increased market pressures to improve both the financial and environmental sustainability of fabs has created the need for a better approach to maximizing the value of these 6-figure+ assets throughout their lifecycle.
“With access to the world’s largest data set for the resale value of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, we felt it was our responsibility to build technology to help manufacturers better incorporate this data into their day-to-day decision-making process,” said Zhou.
