Autor: Mehmet-Emin Özsahin

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.

Due to the concentration of core competences and the utilisation of international location advantages successful German production companies face a situation with globally dispersed sites in global value added networks. The ongoing globalisation, which includes the integration of external sites, suppliers and partners, leads to complex interactions within networks. However, these interactions are not or are simply partially known and not predictable so far. Being able to control dramatic dynamics in the behaviour of global value added networks, German production companies will be positively affected by globalisation in the future. Therefore, changeable global value added networks which can be quickly adjusted to dynamics become crucial. The paper on hand describes an approach for the planning and optimization of adaptable global value added networks. Background is the approach of the research project “planning and optimization of changeable global value added networks” (POWer.net) ...

Advancements in the automation of technical systems enable the simultaneous accomplishment of multiple complex functions. Through further integration of information and communication technologies, systems will be able to communicate among each other and autonomously adapt their behaviour to changes in the environment. For the realisation of logistic functions, autonomous robots are promising systems. For the development and prototypal testing of such robots the automobile terminal was chosen due to its specific attributes and challenges. This article introduces an approach for the combination of security services and continuous inventory by means of autonomous and cooperating robots. To enhance the efficiency of automobile terminals, innovative information and communication technologies are implemented and robust autonomous robots developed.