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Supply Chain Glossary - P

Supply Chain Glossary - P

productive capacity

In the theory of constraints: The maximum of the output capabilities of a resource (or series of resources) or the market demand for that output for a given time period. See: excess capacity, idle capacity, protective capacity.

1) An overall measure of the ability to produce a good or a service. It is the actual output of production compared to the actual input of resources. Productivity is a relative measure across time or against common entities (labor, capital, etc.). In the production literature, attempts have been made to define total productivity where the effects of labor and capital are combined and divided into the output. One example is a ratio that is calculated by adding the dollar value of labor, capital equipment, energy, and material, etc., and dividing it into the dollar value of output in a given time period. This is one measure of total factor productivity. See: efficiency, labor productivity, machine productivity, utilization. 2) In economics, the ratio of output in terms of dollars of sales to an input such as direct labor in terms of the total wages. This is called single factor productivity or partial factor productivity.


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