Designing product workflow for logistics a hidden potential for cycle time and cost reduction as well as quality improvement in high-tech-factories

Customers demand more and more integrated functions on one chip. Therefore product complexity is increasing tremendously. This results in increasing production process complexity, reflected in additional lithography layers for example which causes longer cycle times, higher costs and extended feedback loops for quality improvement. Each additional process step requires at least five additional logistics steps as each lot has to be handled and transported twice and stored temporarily. This scenario is leading in a `logistical trap' with a high proportion of non-value adding time. Main leverage to improve long lead times is design of product workflow for logistics which is the focus of the contribution.