The productivity profile for the paying-bills activity indicates an overall improvement in activity efficiency (all partial ratios improved). Since this is a value-added activity, this means that activity performance has improved. The moving-materials activity indicates a drop in activity productivity. Less output and less inputs were used to perform the activity. This is a non-value-added positive effect. The productivity ratios fail to reveal this, though—unless it can be shown that reduction of non-value-added activities always leads to a decline in productivity ratios (which seems unlikely). Thus, changes in profiles for non-value-added activities are difficult to interpret. The best way to deal with non-value-added activities is to include them as part of the productivity analysis of the process to which they belong.