Every year we set initiatives for the company, so as we begin the new fiscal year, I want to report back on how we did in achieving last year’s and share our new ones for FY16.
FY15 Priority: Strengthen our Market Position in Mobility
Our mobility business had mixed results this past year. On the positive side, we made some very innovative audio and sensor products that broadened our technology position. We also won significant content in the new Apple Watch, and held our revenue-per-phone with Samsung. Unfortunately, we also missed on a few significant projects and didn’t grow our mobile business in China as much as we had anticipated. This year, the BU and Sales team has begun a careful review of our custom high-DEMM projects to ensure that these large bets succeed. We’ve also begun a more robust strategy in China, which I’m confident will help us establish a stronger presence in this important market.
FY15 Priority: Delighting our Automotive Customers
I’m very proud of the accomplishments we made in automotive, which were the result of company-wide efforts. On the supply side, we reached and maintained our 95% on-time delivery goal. This is best-in-class performance, and if we continue to perform at this threshold, it will become a competitive advantage for Maxim.
We also made progress on quality. Our customer returns, measured in parts-per-million (PPM), finished the year around 1.0 PPM. This fell short of our ultimate goal of 0.5 PPM, but marks a significant improvement over the previous year. This improvement was due, in part, to the Quality organization driving a quality focus across our design, manufacturing, and test organizations, all of which have now embraced the new Zero Defect Mindset. If we deliver on the plans we have in place, I’m confident we’ll achieve the 0.5PPM goal in FY16.
FY15 Priority: Improve Standing with Customers
Our customer experience efforts had mixed results in FY15. On the positive side, we improved our focus on meeting the needs of large customers, and making it easier for them to do business with Maxim. Unfortunately our small customers, served primarily through Maxim Direct, are very unhappy with us, particularly in the areas of service and delivery. Feedback suggests that they believe we do not care about their business.
These small business customers are an important part of our strategy; we need them to not only want to do business with Maxim, but also recommend us to others. With the Sales, BU and Supply Chain teams now focused on this segment, I expect significant improvement in FY16.
FY16 Priorities
We have set three initiatives for FY16.
The first is a continuation of last year’s goal: Improve Standing with Customers. We must make it easier for all of our customers to do business with Maxim, no matter how large or small they are. Our growth depends on both differentiated products and our customers’ experience working with Maxim.
Our second initiative is to improve the return on R&D and grow our Core Products business. Our portfolio is now positioned for success, and I’m confident the growth plans the BUs have in place will make an impact this year. The Core Products team is currently working on its growth strategy and has committed to revising its long term revenue and profitability projections by the end of the calendar year.
Our third initiative is to continue developing technology and manufacturing capability through strategic partners. Even as cost, quality and service remain vital, how we achieve them is evolving. Seamless transition of the work at X3, the Dallas Bump fab, and the San Antonio strategic partnership – along with ramping up new assembly partners and increasing utilization in MFN – will help us achieve this priority.
While our business didn’t grow as expected this past year, I am very proud of the work this team accomplished. We continued to see significant headwinds with Samsung, as well as tempered growth across the analog market, which required us to make significant changes in the organization. Despite all of these distractions, we stayed focused, and I believe we are now well positioned to succeed in FY16 and beyond.
Thanks for your hard work and continued commitment to Maxim.
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