In the rapid development phase of the semiconductor industry, the profitability of equipment manufacturers primarily relies on the continuously expanding market demand and equipment sales. However, as the global wafer fab capacity expansion enters a relatively rational phase, the growth rate of equipment demand has gradually slowed down. According to data from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), the global semiconductor equipment sales growth rate is projected to be 10% in 2024, significantly lower than the peak growth rate of over 40% in 2021. Against this backdrop, relying solely on quantity expansion to drive revenue growth is no longer sustainable. The focus of market competition is shifting from the quantity of equipment delivered to the lifespan, stability, yield improvement, and value creation throughout the entire lifecycle of the equipment.
In this context, the importance of post-service models is becoming increasingly prominent. The so-called post-service model not only includes traditional warranty and repair services but also encompasses extended services such as consumable replacement, predictive maintenance, equipment performance optimization, and process adaptation support. Through this model, equipment manufacturers can continuously provide value throughout the entire lifecycle of the customer’s equipment, rather than being limited to a one-time transaction at the time of equipment delivery. For customers, the high cost and complexity of equipment, along with their high dependence on stable operation, lead them to generally prefer long-term service contracts to ensure that the equipment remains in optimal condition. For companies, post-service is not just ‘after-sales’; it is a strategic means to optimize profit structures and establish a symbiotic relationship with customer value.
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1. A Core Tool for Building Deep Customer Loyalty
One of the most prominent roles of the post-service model is to significantly enhance customer loyalty. Semiconductor equipment is a highly complex and capital-intensive product with a high degree of customization. After purchasing a set of equipment, customers often develop a strong path dependence. Once the equipment enters the production line, its operation and maintenance become deeply integrated with the customer’s process flow. At this point, if the equipment manufacturer can provide high-quality guarantees and value-added services during the post-service phase, customers will naturally be more inclined to continue the partnership in future equipment purchases.
Firstly, post-service enhances customer dependence through consumable bundling and subscription models. For example, semiconductor equipment manufacturers often package consumable replacement services with equipment maintenance contracts and offer them to customers in a subscription format. Customers pay a fixed fee monthly or quarterly to receive a stable supply of consumables and priority repair services. This model not only helps customers reduce the risks of inventory management and emergency procurement but also provides TEL with a stable source of income. Secondly, post-service can enhance customers’ risk prevention capabilities. Through predictive maintenance, equipment manufacturers can identify potential risk points in advance and intervene proactively before serious issues arise. The AIx service platform launched by Applied Materials utilizes machine learning to analyze customer equipment operation data, providing real-time diagnostics and predictive maintenance recommendations. For wafer fabs, such proactive services not only reduce the risk of production interruptions but also further strengthen dependence on equipment manufacturers. More importantly, the continuous interaction during the post-service process builds a deep trust relationship. Service engineers frequently visit customer sites, directly engaging with the customer’s process environment, becoming the closest link between customers and manufacturers. This long-term communication and collaboration far surpasses what simple equipment sales can achieve. Through post-service, manufacturers not only gain the opportunity to ‘lock in customers’ but also better understand customers’ potential needs, laying a solid foundation for subsequent product upgrades and new equipment purchases.
2. Feeding Back R&D with Demand to Form Ecological Synergy
In addition to enhancing customer loyalty, the deeper value of the post-service model lies in its feedback effect on product R&D and iteration. Semiconductor equipment is characterized by long R&D cycles and significant investment, while laboratory environments often struggle to fully simulate the complex working conditions of real production. In this context, the operational data from customer sites becomes particularly valuable. By collecting information on consumable consumption, fault codes, parameter drift, and other data during the post-service phase, equipment manufacturers can accurately identify weak points in equipment design. For customers, improvements in equipment stability directly lead to enhancements in yield and capacity; for manufacturers, this not only enhances product competitiveness but also reduces after-sales costs caused by frequent failures.
At a higher level, post-service data can also help manufacturers define the development direction of the next generation of products. ASML, in the development of EUV lithography machines, heavily relies on customer site feedback. By analyzing the operational data of hundreds of installed EUV devices, ASML can clarify the key directions for future light source power enhancement and lens system optimization. This ‘demand input’ from real production is much closer to customer pain points than market research. It can be said that the post-service model has become an indispensable part of the semiconductor equipment R&D system.
3. The Post-Service Model as a Trend and Wave
From the development paths of global semiconductor equipment giants, the post-service model has become not just an auxiliary business but an important pillar in the revenue structure. Leading companies such as ASML, Applied Materials, LAM Research, and Tokyo Electron separately list their service and consumable-related revenues in their financial reports, and this segment’s growth rate often exceeds that of equipment sales itself. For instance, in ASML’s Q1 2025 revenue, service and upgrade business revenue reached 2 billion euros, accounting for over 25%, becoming the second-largest source of revenue after lithography equipment sales. ASML’s after-sales service team is spread across the globe, with service contracts covering the entire process of equipment installation, training, maintenance, parts replacement, and software upgrades. More importantly, ASML can track the operational status of thousands of lithography machines in real-time through a globally connected remote monitoring system. This service not only helps customers reduce downtime risks but also becomes an important source of stable income for ASML. In the coming years, ASML expects its service business to maintain a double-digit compound growth rate, mainly due to the increasing number of lithography machines in operation globally and the growing demand for predictive maintenance and upgrade services from customers. In the fiscal year 2023, Applied Materials’ service and parts replacement business revenue exceeded 5 billion dollars, accounting for 27% of total revenue. The service business of Tokyo Electron and LAM Research also accounts for over 20% and shows an upward trend year by year.
This trend reflects a transformation in the entire industry’s business model: semiconductor equipment manufacturers have shifted from ‘selling equipment’ to ‘selling lifecycle value.’ The post-service model is no longer an optional supplement but a new growth pole that runs parallel to equipment sales. In the future, with the widespread application of AI, big data, and cloud platforms, the post-service model will further evolve towards intelligence and platformization. Manufacturers will not only be equipment suppliers but also long-term partners in customers’ process optimization and capacity management. It is foreseeable that in the increasingly complex landscape of the global semiconductor industry chain, building stronger capabilities in the post-service segment and establishing symbiotic relationships in the industry chain will be a key factor in occupying the high ground of future competition.
4. Development of Post-Service Models in China’s Semiconductor Equipment Industry
Compared to international leaders like ASML and Applied Materials, domestic semiconductor equipment companies in China are still in the initial and exploratory stages of developing post-service models. For a long time, domestic manufacturers have focused primarily on core technology breakthroughs and product advancements to quickly close the gap with international leaders. In this context, post-service has often been viewed as an ancillary aspect, with the construction of service systems and the exploration of service value lagging behind. However, as domestic equipment gradually enters wafer manufacturing production lines and gains market validation, customers are raising higher demands for the post-service capabilities of local manufacturers, providing an important opportunity for companies to build a comprehensive post-service model.
Firstly, from the perspective of market demand, China’s semiconductor industry is accelerating domestic substitution. According to data from the China Semiconductor Industry Association, the domestic semiconductor equipment sales reached 49.5 billion dollars in 2023, with domestic equipment accounting for over 30%. In practical applications, wafer fabs highly depend on the stability of equipment, yield improvement, and continuous operational support. To further increase market share, local manufacturers must enhance customer trust through a reliable post-service system.
Secondly, from the perspective of value creation, the post-service model also plays an important role in feeding back R&D for domestic manufacturers. Chinese semiconductor equipment companies generally have limited R&D resources, and laboratory conditions often cannot cover the complex and variable process environments. In this case, operational data and fault feedback from customer sites become key inputs for R&D iteration.
Looking ahead, as China’s semiconductor industry enters a stage of high-quality development, the post-service model will become an important part of building core competitiveness for local equipment manufacturers. On one hand, the national level continues to promote domestic substitution, which means that the number of equipment in operation is continuously increasing, providing a broad market for service businesses; on the other hand, customers’ demands for equipment reliability and process optimization are continuously increasing, requiring manufacturers to introduce more intelligent and digital means into their service systems, such as remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and data-driven R&D. It is foreseeable that in the future, those who can establish a comprehensive post-service network first, forming stable customer relationships and data advantages, are likely to stand out in the domestic substitution process and become leading enterprises in China’s semiconductor equipment industry.
Conclusion: The post-service model of China’s semiconductor equipment companies is currently at a critical stage of transitioning from ‘initiation’ to ‘growth.’ From building customer trust to feeding back R&D, and exploring business models, the improvement of the post-service system is not only related to the market share of enterprises but also concerns the autonomy and long-term competitiveness of the entire industry chain. By learning from the successful experiences of international leaders, local manufacturers need to accelerate their layout in service capability building, data-driven mechanisms, and business model innovation to establish symbiotic relationships in the upstream and downstream industry chain, thereby winning a more proactive position in future global competition.
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