The scaled amount of benefit realized as derived from inputs.
Comments: In Lean Manufacturing terms we are always looking for more ways to be productive which raises “productivity.”
There is an old joke about a farmer selling watermelons who figured out he was losing about 8 or 10 cents per melon when it came time to sell them. He decided he would have to make it up on volume.
If you don’t understand the joke we are in real trouble here! Doing the “right” things productively is always good. Building inventory to be “productive” when there are no sales or you are losing money on the products is always bad. Sometimes we see productivity numbers that brag about success while profit margins show the opposite.
We realize uses of this term vary somewhat.