Final answer:
The activities needed to produce a service or product and deliver it to the customer are known as the value chain. This includes design, part supply, assembly, and marketing. It enables specialization, innovation, and economic gains in the production stages.
Step-by-step explanation:
The activities required to create the service and put the product in the hands of the customer comprise the value chain. The value chain is a concept that describes how a good is produced in stages, including designing, supplying parts, assembling, and advertising and marketing. For example, producing an iPhone involves multiple stages such as designing and engineering in the United States, supplying parts from Korea, assembling in China, and then marketing in various countries. The process allows for specialization and can lead to economic gains as firms and workers focus on particular parts of the production process and innovate certain products.
In terms of the production of a pizza, the inputs (or factors of production) include flour, water, and yeast for making dough, tomatoes, spices, and water for sauce, cheese, and other toppings that are then combined and cooked to create the final product sold to the customer.