Identifying opportunities for improving Teradyne's service-parts logisticssystem

Teradyne is a major manufacturer of electronic testing equipment used in se miconductor and. electronics assembly plants throughout the world. In a rec ent project, we evaluated opportunities for improving Teradyne's global ser vice-parts repair and logistics network. This system is complex because of the large number and variety of parts, the geographic dispersion of the ins talled base of customers' :machines, the use of multiple classes of service , and stringent requirements for prompt response to customer requirements. We used basic inventory models to capture key characteristics of the system . These models provided insight into the relative value of several improvem ent opportunities. Teradyne used these insights to prioritize change option s and has successfully implemented several of them. The project's success w as, in part, based on the role of a company-academic team that combined und erstanding of relevant inventory models with in-depth knowledge of logistic s processes.