Pillar 4: Supply Chain Integration & Local Supplier Development

Written By Manuel Molina

Build a resilient, high-quality supplier base in Sonora that supports ATP operations and aligns with global value chain risk-reduction priorities.

KEY ACTIONS

  1. Map ATP Input Needs and Critical Supply Nodes. Identify essential materials, services, and components for backend operations — including substrates, packaging tools, thermal materials, and consumables.

  2. Audit and Segment Local Supplier Capabilities. Evaluate Sonoran manufacturers and service providers across sectors (aerospace, auto, medtech) and classify them as ready, near-ready, or emerging.

  3. Launch a Supplier Enablement and Resilience Program. Provide technical assistance, quality certification support, and process upgrades — emphasizing traceability, SEMI/ISO compliance, and dual-sourcing potential.

  4. Build a Digital Supplier Platform to Support Visibility, Qualification, and Resilience. Launch a public-facing directory to showcase local manufacturers and service providers — with searchable filters based on capabilities, certifications (e.g., SEMI/ISO), and readiness levels. Highlight which suppliers have traceability systems, audit history, and qualification data to support ATP firm due diligence.

  5. Connect Local Suppliers with ATP Buyers. Help Sonoran manufacturers engage with global ATP companies (e.g., ASE, Amkor, Advantest) through supplier days, pilot projects, and matchmaking sessions — with a focus on firms that offer geographic and functional redundancy.

  6. Identify opportunities to substitute high-dependency components. Map ATP inputs with high external risk exposure (e.g. packaging substrates, handling tools) and assess potential for regional production.

  7. Attract Strategic Foreign Suppliers to Sonora. Proactively engage high-value ATP and backend suppliers from Taiwan and other Asia-based ecosystems to establish operations in Sonora — offering geographic redundancy, reduced cycle times with Arizona, and integration into a resilient North American semiconductor corridor.

Related Field Notes

Field Notes
Visibility Is Just the Beginning

In Sonora, we’ve started mapping our supplier base — documenting who’s out there, what they offer, and how they might connect to semiconductor value chains.

But mapping is only a starting point.

If the goal is to support outsourced assembly, test, and packaging (ATP) operations, supplier visibility needs to go deeper — and last longer.

It needs to move from a static list to something dynamic and useful. It needs to become infrastructure.

Read More →
You Can’t Build What You Can’t See

One of the most dangerous assumptions in supply chain planning is that the parts you need will be there when you need them. That someone, somewhere, is already making them. That all the tools and materials you’ll need to run a backend line — substrates, thermal compounds, packaging kits — are just one purchase order away.

Read More →
Manuel Molina

De 1993 a 1997, como directivo en InfoSel, formé parte del equipo que desarrolló la primer red de acceso a Internet en México, instalando nodos de acceso y oficinas comerciales en 32 ciudades del país. Desde entonces he dedicado mi vida a investigar las formas en que la tecnología influye en el comportamiento humano.

Estoy particularmente interesado en redes, plataformas y protocolos con el potencial de:

1) Ampliar el acceso al conocimiento (educación, aprendizaje, análisis de datos, nuevas ideas)

2) Ampliar el acceso al capital (sistema financiero actual, crypto, capital humano, infraestructura tecnológica)

3) Ampliar el acceso al bienestar (salud, wellness, comunidad, entretenimiento, diversión)

Más acerca de mi aquí: https://www.sailorseven.org/acerca

https://sailorseven.org
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Pillar 3: Global Positioning and Industry Engagement
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Pillar 5: Infrastructure Enablement