Ramp-up is a term used in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

to describe an increase in a firm's production ahead of anticipated increases in product demand. Alternatively, ramp-up describes the period from completed initial product development to maximum

capacity utilization Capacity utilization or capacity utilisation is the extent to which a firm or nation employs its installed productive capacity (maximum output of a firm or nation). It is the relationship between output that ''is'' produced with the installed ...

, characterized by product and process experimentation and improvements. Ramp-up in the first sense often occurs when a company strikes a deal with a

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

, or producer, which will substantially increase product demand. For example, in June, 2008, after launching a joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile,

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

announced that it would "ramp up" production in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to meet expected increases in market demand by constructing a plant in

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, which would produce some 120,000 additional

Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Cam ...

sedans. In the consumer

electronics industry The electronics industry is the industry (economics), industry that produces electronic devices. It emerged in the 20th century and is today one of the largest global industries. Contemporary society uses a vast array of electronic devices that ar ...

, manufacturers often ramp-up production in the early fall to meet demand during the holiday selling season. As ramp-up is typical in early stages of firm or market development, the term and process is widely associated with

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

, which seek to rapidly increase rate of

return on investment Return on investment (ROI) or return on costs (ROC) is the ratio between net income (over a period) and investment (costs resulting from an investment of some resources at a point in time). A high ROI means the investment's gains compare favorab ...

, just prior to

exit Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange A ...

. For example,

Wrightspeed Revo Powertrains is an electric vehicle powertrain company based in Alameda, California. It was created by Tesla co-founder Ian Wright. Products The Wrightspeed Route is a plug and play repower kit for commercial trucks. It is a high-power m ...

, the producer of the X1 electric car prototype, began to seek out capital in order to hire on 50 well-trained employees in order to "ramp up" production in anticipation of sales successes. Ramp up may also refer to how quickly

dispatchable generation Dispatchable generation refers to sources of electricity that can be programmed ''on demand'' at the request of power grid operators, according to market needs. Dispatchable generators may adjust their power output according to a request. Conven ...

from power plants can increase, and ramp down by how quickly it can decrease whilst still remaining operational (not shutting down), with "ramp" being either way.

References

{{Reflist Business terms Production economics