What Is Direct Production?

Direct production is a term that is used to describe a situation where a company, a group of individuals, or a person produces what he or she needs without having to rely on any other person or organization. The concept of direct production also entails that the item produced in this form must only be due to the talents and efforts of the producer. In other words, the person involved in direct production must be able to take the whole production process from the initial stage involving the raw materials to the finished final product.

An example of the application of this concept can be seen in the case of a carpenter who is a direct producer of furniture. In this case, the individual will select the tree needed for the production of the desired piece of furniture, cut it down, and divide it into workable sections. Finally, the individual will shape the desired sections of wood into a table, chair or other type of furniture. The carpenter has engaged in direct production in this manner due to the fact that he or she did not rely on the help of any other person during the entire production process.

Another application of direct production can be seen in the case of a printing firm that engages in this form of production through its activities. In this sense, the printing press grows the trees, cuts them down, and processes them into the paper necessary for printing. Assuming the printing press also has a section where it manufactures the equipment necessary for the printing process, then this organization is involved in direct production.

One of the implications of direct production is that those engaged in it are self-reliant and do not require the services or input of any other person or organization during the whole production process. The meaning of this type of production process for a country is that it will hardly need to import anything from any other country since it produces almost everything it needs. This is not strictly practical in modern times due to the complexity of life and the demands for goods that a country may not necessarily produce. Direct production would also serve to deny the participants or those engaged in the practice from the benefit of gaining from the specialization or expertise of others in relation to the production of the items.