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e-Business in the chemical, rubber and plastics industryExhibit 5.4-3: Production and investments in the chemical sector in HungaryIvestitions20062005200420032002Production ofchemicals0 1000000 2000000 3000000 4000000 5000000 6000000EURSource: National Association of the Chemical Industry (www.mavesz.hu)5.4.4 Lessons learnedThe case of e-business adoption and usage at Medikémia leads to the followingconclusions:e-Business and profit: In special markets, the profit generated by introducing e-business can be hard to quantify. This impedes return-on-investment calculations.e-Business and business partners: In a comparatively small market such asHungary, a medium-sized company like Medikémia, which does not directly sell itsproducts to the end user, gains most of its significant customers and businesspartners (e.g. retail chains) through personal contacts.e-Business and market share: the market share has not significantly beenincreased by introducing e-business. However, ICT-based innovation and e-business, are nevertheless essential for medium-sized chemical companies forcoping with new market challenges and, ultimately, surviving.e-Business and competition: Due to globalisation, competitors are increasingly thebig multinational companies. These have a big advantage when competition isbased on price rather than on quality, for example in electronic auctions. However,Central-European companies have good opportunities to extend their market intothe East; it is essential that they do so fast, as companies in this segment normallygain competitive advantages if they are the first in a market. Through a suitablesupply chain management, the foreign market could have a good and efficientprovision of Hungarian products.e-Business and workforce: ICT has enabled the company to reduce the number ofemployees by substituting manual work processes. At the same time, theworkforce needs to be better qualified.e-Business and globalisation: A strategic option for Medikémia would be to moveits productive department to the Eastern countries, in order to reduce costs andincrease its profitability in the short term. ICT and e-business would facilitate this158