Business Planning on Efficiency, Productivity, and Profitability

Abstract

Productivity is the index to measure every operation including horticulture called plant factory or controlled environment agriculture. Numerous indexes may approach “efficiency” and “productivity” issues. Some are simpler and some more complicated; some have larger magnitude and some have smaller impact on “profitability.” Most of the indexes are inevitably correlated with one another, and no improvement may stand alone if the goal is to achieve the overall profitability. We invite wisdom from the business universe to analyze efficiency, productivity, and profitability and to cause the first two to help improve the last one pertaining to plant factory. This chapter introduces “business planning sheet” developed by Japan Plant Factory Association and Asahi Techno Plant. It simulates the process to engineer, procure, construct, and operate plant factories and to sell the produce thereof. It helps plant factory management to control the indexes for efficiency and productivity in order to achieve the profitability goal by distinguishing the causes from the results.