Modelling the Long-Term Cost Competitiveness of a Semiconductor Product with a Fuzzy Approach

Unit cost is undoubtedly the most critical factor for the competitiveness of a product. Therefore, evaluating the competitiveness of a product according to its unit cost is a reasonable idea. The current practice assesses the competitiveness at a number of check points in the product life cycle, and then averages the results. This approach is computationally simple but theoretically doubtful. This study evaluates the long-term cost competitiveness of a semiconductor product based on its cost learning model from a new viewpoint – the trend in the mid-term competitiveness. Using a fuzzy value to express the long-term cost competitiveness, the flexibility in the interpretation and implementation of the evaluation result is increased. A practical example is used to illustrate the proposed methodology.