Key Factors in Distribution Agent Selection for Semiconductor Manufacturers: An Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach

Abstract

Semiconductor products are highly specialized and capital intensive, making it difficult for manufacturers to cover all markets through self-built channels alone; distribution agents have therefore become an essential strategic tool for entering regional markets and responding rapidly to change. Combining a systematic literature review with two rounds of focus group discussions, this study applies the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to construct a hierarchical framework of the factors influencing distribution agent selection by semiconductor manufacturers, comprising five criteria—new market development, customer maintenance, operating costs, technical knowledge, and brand control—and twenty-two sub-criteria. The results show that new market development is the most important of the five criteria. In the overall ranking of sub-criteria, regional coverage breadth is the most important factor, followed by customer response speed and frequency, customer development capability, flexibility of sales incentive systems, and after-sales technical support capability, indicating that manufacturers place the greatest emphasis on agents’ market expansion capability, customer service efficiency, and operational flexibility. Although ESG commitment currently carries a relatively low weight, tightening international sustainability regulations are expected to make it an increasingly critical differentiating factor in the medium and long term. The proposed framework provides semiconductor manufacturers with a systematic evaluation benchmark for establishing distribution channels and a reference for global market deployment strategies. In this study, thirty-one experts (N = 31) completed the AHP questionnaire, and all pairwise comparison matrices satisfied the consistency requirement (C.R. ≤ 0.10). Among the five criteria, new market development carried the highest weight (0.406), followed by customer maintenance (0.286); in the overall ranking of the twenty-two sub-criteria, regional coverage breadth ranked first (global weight 0.270). Although ESG commitment currently carries the lowest weight, tightening international sustainability regulations are expected to make it an increasingly important differentiating factor. These findings suggest that semiconductor manufacturers should prioritize agents’ market-expansion capability and customer-service responsiveness when selecting distribution partners.