Process (inc. Invoicing Policy), Timings & FAQ

  Process

•   Ordering

•   We divide the year into 2 semesters
  • o   S1 May-Oct activation
  • o   S2 Nov-Apr activation

•   Commitment Windows
  • o   We offer 2 ‘Commitment’ windows - December for S1 & May for S2.

•   Immediate Orders
  • o   Besides the 2 commitment windows we also offer an Immediate Orders website. The intent of this site is to compliment the Commitment windows, not to be a substitute for them. The volumes kept in inventory to cover this function are based on historical data, but tend to be modest. Using the Immediate Orders site for all your needs & not using the Commitment windows is not recommended, as it would most likely result in disappointment

•   Custom Orders
  • o   If you have needs beyond what is offered on the Commitment & Immediate sites we also offer a ‘Custom Orders’ service. For this function please see the template that needs to be completed & sent to us under the ‘Custom Orders’ tab

•   Pricing & invoicing
  • o   Our invoice currency is EUR
  • o   Commitment window pricing (planned pricing) is based on historical volumes & is subject to change once we have rolled up all the commitments. If the volume based pricing is different than planned pricing by plus or minus 10 percent we notify the effected markets, providing an opportunity to modify numbers. We don’t communicate within 10%, as history shows the plus & minuses within that range cancel each other out.
  • o   Final pricing for each commitment window is made 2 weeks out from commencement of deliveries & is currency based – we buy in 5 currencies & sell in 1 so need to leave the exchange rate piece to the very end
  • o   All pricing is ex Prague warehouse with freight added to each invoice. We have a 5 year freight history attached under the ‘Freight Estimates’ tab
  • o   We must physically invoice every customer/market for all goods shipped, in other words no coding to cost centres is possible, this is a Czech VAT requirement (see Prague POS Invoicing Policy below for more detail)

  F19 Timings

•   S1 POS
  • o   Website live 17th November
  • o   Website closes for ordering 9am, Monday 11th of December
  • o   Items not being made communicated to markets by mid January
  • o   Final pricing communicated to markets by mid April
  • o   Deliveries from 2 May onward. Our aim is to deliver as much as possible as soon as possible & we double the warehouse staff from April-June in order to do that. We prioritize as best we can & will even ship partial commitments for urgent needs
  • o   Ordering by case or packet quantities will help reduce picking & packing time at our end, speeding up the packing process. It also reduces the number of boxes with mixed items at your end. Please order by case & packet quantities as much as possible.

•   S2 POS
  • o   Website live end of May
  • o   Commitments by middle of June
  • o   Items not being made communicated to markets by end of June
  • o   Final pricing communicated by mid-October
  • o   Deliveries from November onwards

•   Immediate Orders website
  • o   Site shows live inventory numbers for every SKU
  • o   Immediate Orders can usually ship within days of the order being placed, the exception being if it’s placed when semester commitments are being picked, packed & shipped – priority is given to commitment fulfillment

FAQ (frequently asked questions)

Q. What do I do if my website access doesn’t work?

A. If “Forgot your password” button does’t help contact Jana Stloukalova (jana_stloukalova@b-f.com) who can check on the administration site if there’s an issue with your access, or will arrange access for someone new to the process

Q. Who do I contact for brand related questions?

A. FV brands, Chambord, El Jimador, Herradura - Daniel Uhlir (daniel_uhlir@b-f.com)

Jack Daniel's, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Gentleman Jack, Woodford, - Martina Jurkova (martina_jurkova@b-f.com)

Q. If there’s a discrepancyin pricing between the Worksheet & the website which is accurate?

A. The website – a revised quote may have come in after the Worksheet was completed.

Q. Why do some items have different prices on the Immediate Orders website?

A. Because that was the exchange rate at the time that item was purchased whereas NP Planned Pricing is based on current exchange rates.

PRAGUE POS INVOICING POLICY

Background 

1.       POS is purchased and supplied by Prague POS center. Legally and fiscally this activity belongs to Brown-Forman Czechia, s.r.o. (BFCS). Fiscal rules do not allow BFCS to expense POS material supplied to other markets directly - the expense would be tax non-deductable for corporate income tax and VAT of 21% would need to be expensed on top of the purchase price. Therefore POS shipments from BFCS need to be invoiced out, either to a Brown-Forman entity, or to a third party distributor that will actually use the POS material. The ship-to may or may not be the same as the invoice-to.

2.       The invoice-to always needs to pay the POS invoice to BFCS within the payment term stated on the invoice.  

3.       For correct fiscal treatment, it is critical to identify the correct invoice-to before the shipment is made. Depending on the relation between invoice-to and ship-to, the Czech output VAT is applied and reported. The typical scenarios are following:

a.       Invoice-to and ship-to are based in the same EU country and invoice-to has an EU VAT number: no Czech VAT is applied, both BFCS and invoice-to need to report the shipment in INTRASTAT

b.      Ship-to is outside EU, export of the POS from EU is proved by customs documents. Then no Czech VAT output is applied, regardless of invoice-to location, and zero export VAT is reported.

c.       Shipment is sent from the supplier directly to the final ship-to while BFCS is invoiced by the supplier and then issues an invoice to the final invoice-to. VAT treatment needs to be assessed individually.

d.      Ship-to is in one EU country but invoice-to is in another EU country or  outside EU. The Czech VAT of 21% may need to be applied which would not be recoverable, actual VAT treatment needs to be assessed individually.

Responsibility of Marketing Managers

 1.       Before you place an order for POS to BFCS, contact internally the Finance Manager responsible for the respective market to verify the invoicing scheme for the required ship-to.

Responsibility of Finance Managers

1.       For the given market / ship-to, provide or confirm the invoice-to details to the POS center (currently Katerina Pokorna : katerina_pokorna@b-f.com):

a.       Legal name and address

b.      EU VAT number, if applicable

c.       Contact person to whom the invoice is to be sent electronically for processing and payment.

Responsibility of the POS team

1.       Shipment will not be sent without confirmed invoicing details as above

2.       Confirm the correct VAT treatment for scenario 3c and 3d above with the local accounting team

Write off policy

1.       In the event that an outstanding balance has to be written off, the value of the amount, along with the unavoidable tax implications (CIT of 19% & possibly VAT of 21% also, will be journaled to that market)

2.       At the beginning of a new fiscal year, any amount that is beyond 180 days past due & has had 3 unanswered requests for payment, will automatically be written off