Ramp-up
Building capacity before demand shows up. Scale too slow you choke, too fast you bleed.
Grounded in the research on Ramp-up (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramp-up)
Know what ramp-up actually means
Ramp-up is an economics and operations term with two linked meanings: (1) increasing production ahead of anticipated demand, and (2) the bridge period from finished product development to maximum capacity utilization. That second phase is messy on purpose, defined by product and process experimentation and improvement before you hit full output. Classic example: consumer electronics makers ramping output before the holiday season, or Toyota's 2008 China expansion. You are scaling on a forecast, not on what's already in hand.
Ramp before the demand, not after
The whole point is timing capacity ahead of the curve. Demand doesn't wait for you to be ready. If you scale only once orders land, you eat stockouts, missed quarters, and customers who left. The cost of building capacity early is real, but the cost of being caught flat-footed is usually worse. Decide your ramp on the anticipated increase, then commit before the spike, not during it.