Autor: Luling Lo

Today, companies operating in the textile industry are integrated within value chain networks. Due to the global distribution and the cooperation with external partners, these companies underlie several influencing factors. In the case that the reaction to these influencing factors is not possible with the use of the existing flexibility, a basic adaption of the company structure is required. The potential to undergo these necessary changes is also named as changeability. To create changeable network structures it is firstly necessary to know about potential influencing factors and their impacts onto the company. The paper on hand therefore describes a procedure for the identification and evaluation of potential change drivers and introduces identified, potential change drivers using the example of a company that is active in the field of the apparel industry.

The People’s Republic of China has developed into an important national economy, which is fully integrated into the world’s economy. China’s apparel industry already leads the world in production and exports. This article describes China’s position within the global apparel industry and shows some effects onto the logistics of the branch. Additionally a project is being introduced which may contribute to solving some problems in intra-logistic processes of the branch.