A procedure that invented in the 1980s for evaluating the processes of a business to find strengths and weaknesses. Specially, activity-based management finds out areas where a business is losing money so that those activities can be removed or improved to raise profitability. ABM evaluates the costs of employees, facilities, equipment, distribution, overhead and additional aspects in a business to find out and assign activity costs.

Activity-based management can be put to diverse types of companies, which involves service providers, manufacturers, non-profits, schools and government agencies, and ABM can give cost information about any area of operations in a company. Besides improving profitability, the consequences of an ABM analysis can assist a company to produce more precise budgets and financial forecasts.