Readiness for ICT Based B2C Information Flow – Case Study of the Hungarian Food Sector

Abstract

The complexity of information flow and cooperation among enterprises operating in a supply chain is growing. This process has a significant impact on the economy and the objective is that both traditional and new ICT (Information and Communication Technology) solutions meet the pressing needs for more efficient business processes. The current paper focuses on enterprises belonging to the food supply chain and analyses some indicators supporting the information flow within the company and with partners (being either a partner enterprise or the final consumer). Our Institute has prepared a survey to examine the ICT usage and attitude by enterprises operating in the agri-food sector. The importance of business processes supportable by ICT had to be assessed by companies. In this study we evaluated the importance of some ICT indicators supporting information flow in the chain. The main objective of the current article is to determine the difference between food enterprises divided by different grouping factors regarding their evaluation of the chosen indicators. In our opinion, competitive advantage may be reached using ICT solutions for widening and maintaining relations through a more effective information flow with partners and consumers.