Aggregate Capacity Management

Definition of 'Aggregate Capacity Management '

The process of planning and managing the overall capacity of an organization's resources. Aggregate capacity management aims to balance capacity and demand in a cost-effective manner. It is generally medium-term in nature, as opposed to day-to-day or weekly capacity management. The term “aggregate” denotes the fact that this form of capacity management considers a resource such as manpower or production capacity in total, without distinguishing between different types.

Investopedia explains 'Aggregate Capacity Management '

For example, in a plant that manufactures various types of computers, aggregate capacity management would take into account the total number of computers to be manufactured over a three-month period, without considering the composition of the product mix – desktop, laptop or notebook computers.

Aggregate capacity management is generally a three-step process – measuring aggregate demand and capacity levels for the planning period, identifying alternative capacity plans in case of demand fluctuations, and choosing an appropriate capacity plan.