Value added

Value added is a term in financial economics for calculating the difference between market value of a product or service, and the sum value of its constituents. It is relatively expressed to the supply-demand curve for specific units of sale. It represents a market equilibrium view of production economics and financial analysis. Value added is distinguished from the accounting term added value which measures only the financial profits earned upon transformational processes for specific items of sale that are available on the market. In business, total value added is calculated by tabulating the unit value added (measured by summing unit profit — the difference between sale price and production cost, unit depreciation cost, and unit labor cost) per each unit sold. Thus, total value added is equivalent to revenue minus intermediate consumption. Value added is a higher portion of revenue for integrated companies (e.g. manufacturing companies) and a lower portion of revenue for less integrated companies (e.g. retail companies); total value added is very nearly approximated by compensation of employees, which represents a return to labor, plus earnings before taxes, representative of a return to capital. In microeconomics, value added may be defined as the market value of aggregate output of a transformation process, minus the market value of aggregate input (or aggregate inputs) of a transformation process. One may describe value added with the help of Ulbo de Sitter's design theory for production synergies. He divides transformation processes into two categories, parts and aspects. Parts can be compared to timeline stages, such as first preparing the dish, then washing it, then drying it. Aspects are equated with area specialization, for example that someone takes care of the part of the counter that consists of glass, another takes care of the part that consists of plates, a third takes care of cutlery. An important part of understanding value added is therefor to examine delimitations.