Table of Contents
The purchasing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, like that of foodstuffs, has the aim to purchase the very best quality of items, at the lowest price for a specific purpose. The purchasing of beverages should be undertaken by the purchasing manager together with such experts as the food and beverage manager, the head cellar-man and the head wine waiter. As beverages will frequently contribute more to profits than foods, and as they require considerably fewer staff to process them into a finished product for the customer, it is essential that adequate attention is given to this area. What is important to bear in mind always when purchasing beverages is that expensive products or products with pretty labels do not necessarily indicate or guarantee superior quality.
With beverage purchasing the following points are generally noticeable:
- There are fewer and often restricted sources of supply.
- The high value of beverage purchases.
- The free advice and assistance with purchasing are given by the wine and spirit trade.
- The quality factors are difficult to evaluate and require special training to identify them.
- There are fewer standard purchasing units than for food.
- There is an established standard of product. Many items like minerals, spirits, etc. will have standard that will not vary over the years and items such as a well-known wine from an established shipper will be of a standard for a specific year, whereas with food items there may be several grades and a wide range of ungraded items available. In addition, food items may be purchased in different forms such as fresh, chilled frozen, canned, etc.
- The prices of alcoholic beverages do not fluctuate to the extent that food prices do.
Duties and responsibilities of Purchase manager
- The Purchase Manager is responsible for the administration of the purchase department.
- Responsible to maintain and upkeep of all purchase documents.
- For all purchases obtain proper requisition from with specification for the item and Budget Code duly authorized and inky then place written purchase orders.
- Locate surveyors/vendors, find out there they are situated and extent of their resources.
- Maintain a choice of vendor and suppliers.
- Establish ‘Lead Time’ of delivery of various vendors.
- Be familiar with Governmental procedures of import.
- Maintain cordial relation with food production, control, accounts Government agencies and vendors and marketing.
Qualities to be adhered by a Purchase Manager
(a) Have knowledge of commodities.
(b) Know the basis cuts of meats and the differences between various goods.
(c) Be familiar with the method of processing, grading, packing of the fresh/canned frozen and dehydrated fruits, vegetables groceries and staple.
(d) Have a general knowledge of crop condition in the market.
(e) Carry outlines to establish a quality of Purchase.
(f) Advise and guide the Food and Beverages Manager/Chief in planning their menus,
(g) Visit the local fruits and vegetable markets to find out prices and seasonal items and advise Management accordingly.
Knowledge of commodities to be purchased
To implement effective purchase arrangement the Purchase Manager shall be required to have thorough knowledge of various merchandise to be bought with a view to acquiring knowledge of the following:-
- Description of the items.
- Sources of supply and availability in the year.
- Quality characteristic of various products.
- Right markets price- both wholesale and retail.
Purchasing control
Purchasing control consists of developing ‘Standards and Standard procedures’ for purchasing and outlines the following:
1. Purchasing policy
- Corporate
- Centralized or decentralized
2. Purchasing research
- Markets and Materials
- Marketing channels
- Price trends
3. Product evaluation and assessment
- Product testing
- Yield testing
4. Purchase specifications
- Food
- Beverage
5. Purchasing methods
- By contract
- By quotation
- By cash & carry etc.
6. Clerical procedures
- Documentation
- Information processing
Purchasing Procedure
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1. Initiation of Purchase requisition |
Check authorization: Ex. Chef, F&B Manager, Storekeeper |
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2. Determination of Source of supply |
Select and approve suppliers |
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3. Evaluation of proposals and Placement of purchase order |
Evaluate quotations |
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4. Receiving supplies |
Verification of invoice/delivery note against purchase order |
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5. Closure of purchase transaction |
Forwarding details of purchase transaction to purchase office |
Format of Purchase Order
Purchase specification for Beverages
The purpose of a purchasing specification is to set down in writing the standard of a product for a specific use by an establishment. This is then used by the purchasing manager to inform suppliers exactly what is required and is vital information when negotiation prices. It is also invaluable to the receiving and cellar department staff to know what to accept when deliveries are being made.Unlike purchasing specifications for food, specifications for beverages are much simpler and to understand. The reason is that beverages are sold and purchased by the brand name label of the product, each having a consistent quality and quantity standard of content for each selling unit, e.g. barrels, kegs, bottles, splits.
Methods of purchasing beverages
1. Cash and carry
This method is followed for the purchase of non-alcoholic beverages. Cash n carry businesses offer either whole range of non-alcoholic brands or limited brands. However, this method is followed in case of emergency
2. Wine Shippers
These are the firms that purchase buying from the country of origin and shipped to the destination. Usually wine shippers are concerned with sale of wine in a particular region only which means the range of purchases is limited.in certain cases wine shippers only deal with high profile hotels.
3.Wholesalers
These are generally subsiding companies of wine and spirits, large breweries etc. in which they sell their own labelled products and first preference. Wholesalers offer sometimes a wide range of all beverages and at times they assist the hotel people with promotional literature for bar and restaurant sales.
4.Auctions
Alcoholic Beverages also purchased from auctions which are carried out by an auction house however generally auctions does not authorize the sale of alcohol in the alcohol beverage business. Beverages purchased by auction are meant for celebration purpose only.
5.Wine and beer fairs
Alcoholic beverages are also purchased at an annually held wine and beer fares sponsored by manufacturing companies and wine shippers. the advantage of the fair he can acquire alcoholic beverage at a lesser price than those sold normally but requires a licenced permission from the country of origin.