Asyst Launches E-fulfillment Component of Comprehensive Supply-chain Strategy
Thursday December 5, 4:27 pm ET
New Web Capability, Outsourcing Initiative, ISO 9001 Certification Aimed at Improving Performance for Customers
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2002-- Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT - News), a leading provider of integrated automation solutions that maximize semiconductor manufacturing productivity, today announced the launch of its new e-fulfillment portal -- a first in the automation sector, and the latest in a series of strategic moves aimed at improving the Asyst customer experience, streamlining the company's global supply chain, and improving operational performance.
The initial implementation of the new on-line portal, the Asyst Order Fulfillment Center (OFC), extends Asyst's automation value proposition to the Internet realm by automating order fulfillment and tracking, giving global customers 24/7 access to their order information while ensuring that quality, timeliness and accuracy of customer deliveries are optimized. OFC provides complete transparency for customers and Asyst into the company's outsourced global supply chain via eight back-end business-to-business (B2B) messages, ensuring physical and logical alignment.
The rollout of the OFC follows closely on the heels of two other key operational excellence initiatives. In September, Asyst announced that it is outsourcing most of its manufacturing operations to Solectron Corporation (NYSE:SLR - News) as part of a five-year agreement. Solectron is working with Asyst to focus on the key customer satisfaction metrics of quality, on-time delivery and shipment accuracy (Solectron is the only two-time winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award), while enabling Asyst to focus on development of innovative new automation solutions and supply chain excellence. The outsourcing to Solectron was completed on October 7, 2002.
Additionally, Asyst was issued ISO 9001:1994 quality-management certification earlier this year, and the company subsequently passed its second periodical audit. With the certification, from accredited third-party registrar Det Norske Veritas Certification, Inc. (DNV), Asyst joined a select group of companies that has achieved compliance with the world's most widely recognized quality-management standard. During the certification process, in which key processes that affect quality are evaluated, Asyst's quality-management system was reviewed for conformance to 20 different elements, including management responsibility, design control, document and data control, and process control. The accreditation, issued for Asyst's Fremont, Calif. facilities, will be reassessed every six months from date of issue to ensure ongoing compliance.
Fred Tiso, Asyst's senior vice president of manufacturing operations, said, "We are committed to deploying best-of-breed technologies and processes that will make it easier to do business with Asyst. As a recognized leader in automation and isolation technology, it is incumbent upon us not only to pursue continual innovation in our core areas of expertise, but also to provide our customers with the tools they need to optimize their own manufacturing strategies and enhance their productivity. Each of these developments -- from achieving the organizational discipline required for ISO 9001 certification, to our partnership with Solectron, to today's rollout of our new e-fulfillment portal -- is a key part of a carefully crafted supply chain strategy aimed at accomplishing these objectives."
OFC Comprises External Customer Center, Internal Dashboard, and Collaborative Supply Chain Center
Asyst's analysis indicated that 70% of all incoming customer calls were order related. The OFC allows the vast majority of those inquiries to be satisfied in a self-serve environment. The Customer Center component of the OFC e-business capability allows equipment and fab solutions customers to view status of orders, shipments, billing and accounts receivable through the online user interface. In addition, the system utilizes information "push" technology to manage fulfillment of events, proactively notifying customers via email of major events related to order fulfillment, such as order receipt, initiation of shipment and changes in shipment dates. The Asyst Dashboard component provides Asyst's internal team with online access to bookings, shipments, billings, backlog, accounts receivable, revenue and inventory information, providing real-time visibility into the entire supply chain. Sales, engineering, operations and finance personnel can keep track of this information throughout the order process, ensuring early awareness of any problems so that measures can be taken to correct them -- helping ensure increased quality and timeliness of product delivery to customers. The collaborative component allows Asyst to interact in real time with Solectron and other supply chain partners on forecast, order fulfillment, inventory and engineering changes.
The OFC is accessible to Asyst's global customers on a password-protected basis. Interested customers can register at www.asyst.com. A number of future capabilities are planned for the company's e-business component, such as an expanded portal function that will facilitate interaction between Asyst's chip-manufacturing and OEM customers.
About Asyst: Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated automation solutions that enable semiconductor manufacturers to increase manufacturing productivity and protect investments in silicon wafers during the manufacture of integrated circuits, or ICs. The company offers a broad range of 200mm and 300mm solutions that enable the safe transfer of wafers and information between process equipment and the fab line throughout the IC fabrication process, while reducing IC damage caused by human, environmental, mechanical and chemical factors. Encompassing isolation systems, work-in-process materials management, substrate-handling robotics, automated transport and loading systems, and connectivity automation software, Asyst's modular, interoperable solutions allow chipmakers and original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, to select and employ the value-assured, hands-off manufacturing capabilities that best suit their needs. Asyst's homepage is asyst.com
"Safe Harbor" Statement
Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to: the volatility of semiconductor industry cycles, failure to respond to rapid demand shifts, dependence on a few significant customers, the transition of the industry from 200mm wafers to 300mm wafers, risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities, competition in the semiconductor equipment industry, failure to efficiently integrate acquired companies, failure to retain employees, losses of market share, and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2002 and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Asyst Technologies, Inc.
Pamela Mah, 510/661-5000 (media)
pmah@asyst.com
John Swenson, 510/661-5000 (investors)
jswenson@asyst.com
or
Guerrant Associates
Laura Guerrant, 808/992-1467
lguerrant@guerrantir.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Asyst Technologies, Inc. |
