ancillary (adjective, an-cil-lar-y, \ ˈænsəleri \) activity (noun, ac-tiv-i-ty, \ ækˈtɪvəti \)
Definition: is a supporting non-trade business activity, operation, process, or procedure that isn’t directly connected to the core activities of a company. Such activities are essential for creating conditions, under which the firm’s core or secondary activities are performed productively and without any disturbances. Even though the value of an ancillary activity is relatively small when compared to more important activities of the company, their existence can be vital for the firm’s stability. For instance, a manufacturing organization can count inventory maintenance or consultancy among its ancillary activities.
In a Sentence:
- Even such a simple ancillary activity as maintenance of the organization’s premises is vital for the proper day-to-day functioning of the company.
- The board believed that adding customer service as an ancillary activity to their furniture business will prove to be beneficial in the long run.
- Cleaning the office space is an ancillary activity, but should it be removed, it would be impossible for the employees to perform their duties properly.
Synonyms and related words: critical activity, core activities, ancillary benefit, activity value analysis
