TSMC : Foundry Watch

We Care, Communicate, and Commit

Customer service excellence ... it is the critical factor that enhances customer satisfaction, expanding relationships, and mutual business success. Close customer relationships, nurtured through

attentive customer service, are key to the historic success of the dedicated foundry business model. It is the ingredient that is never discussed in the trade and business press, yet it will also be paramount to the achievement of TSMC's corporate vision and both parties' interdependency.

TSMC Chairman, Dr. Morris Chang has long held that TSMC succeeds only when its customers succeed. That's why TSMC believes that, through close customer collaboration, each party leverages the other's strength and core competency.

Communication and Commitment

Customer service excellence is more than a phrase and more than day-to-day responsiveness to ever-changing needs. It is a disciplined process of constant communications and commitment to specific actions.

TSMC conducts regular reviews and surveys to facilitate organized communication for the sole purpose of continuous improvement. The company's Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey (ACSS) is one of the key tools.

The ACSS is a series of face-to-face and telephone interviews conducted by an independent third-party organization with customers around the world. The output of this survey is a key indicator of how well the company has heard its customers and provides the insight required to enhance its services.

Most importantly, the results of this survey are the basis for actions, many of which become a part of virtually every TSMC employee's annual evaluation. Improvement plans and feedback are also integral parts of a disciplined business process that ensures that customers' needs are adequately addressed in a timely manner.

The ACSS is also the genesis for a number of recent service improvement projects. Chief among those is the soon-to-be implemented Early Warning process and improved
CyberShuttle prototyping service cycle time.

Through the Early Warning process, customers will be informed of any changes and can make adjustment according to that schedule early in the production process.

Another important improvement is reduced CyberShuttle cycle time. TSMC engineers reviewed each process step in the CyberShuttle program, looking for increased efficiencies. This review also provided insight that resulted in a new on-line tape-out service (see "TSMC Launches CyberShuttle Online Tape-out System") to cut cycle time and enhance tape-out execution precision.

Fostering a Service Culture

Last year, TSMC top management led the company in undertaking a global corporate transformation initiative. Among the many transformation elements, an enhanced customer orientation is one of the most important values that support the new corporate vision.

To foster a culture of customer orientation, Customer Service initiated an Outstanding Customer Satisfaction Employee (OCSE) award program.

Each month the award is bestowed on a TSMC employee or team who, based on outstanding service, received significant recognition from a TSMC customer. Each month, an OCSE story is published on TSMC's internal web site to honor the employee as a role model who has endeavored to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction that resulted in mutual business success.

TSMC's Worldwide Marketing and Sales organization also initiated a quarterly HOOPS Award to recognize teams and individuals who "jump through hoops" and dedicate extraordinary effort to achieve customer satisfaction.

"Our vision is to be the most advanced, innovative and largest provider of foundry services, and in partnership with our customers, forge a most powerful force in the semiconductor industry," explains Dr. Chang.

To achieve this goal, TSMC will be even more diligent in seeking customer input. This dialog will cover a plethora of issues including process technologies, quality and reliability, delivery, capacity, and overall service and collaboration.

The goal going forward is the same as it was in the past: mutual success.