Excise taxes on products such as alcoholic beverages, coffee or tobacco are indirect taxes that are imposed at the manufacturer or dealer concerned for the consumption or use of certain goods. These taxes are often not immediately apparent to consumers, but they do affect the price and the processing of the entire business transaction. That is why compliance with statutory regulations and efficient tax processing are absolutely essential for any company producing or marketing luxury foods, alcohol and tobacco. Wein Wolf GmbH headquartered in Bonn is such company, and they contacted Krones in their search for a can-do partner.
All aspects of tax processing may prove really complicated and time-consuming. But Krones’ digital excise tax solution has enabled Wein Wolf to substantially simplify and optimise them. That is of vital importance for the wine and spirits wholesaler.
Project kick-off at Wein Wolf
About six years ago, Wein Wolf GmbH decided to prepare its ERP system for a change-over to SAP S/4HANA. That presented them with the challenge of finding a new integrated high-performance alternative to the software they had been using so far for excise tax processing because for S/4HANA the new solution had to be available via the cloud. In this context, it was especially important for Wein Wolf that the new alternative be suitable for on-premise use of both SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA in order to back the migration process planned.
The Krones solution was able to meet these needs perfectly since it supports both systems. It has thus enabled Wein Wolf to flexibly switch between the old and the new solution and ensure an efficient transition without affecting ongoing operations. Another crucial factor was the option for integrating sales sets with different alcohol contents and types of tax – an important aspect for a company offering such a wide selection of alcoholic beverages.
Optimised processes and seamless integration
“Conversion to S/4HANA was preceded by implementation of and migration to the Krones solution, both of which went like clockwork. We’ve been benefiting from substantially improved levels of transparency, simpler analyses and optimised handling ever since the system change-over. And the Krones team was always at our side with their first-rate support, solving any challenges fast and with professional expertise,” says Nina Olbrück who heads the supply chain management team at Wein Wolf GmbH.
Thanks to the new Krones solution, Wein Wolf is now able to efficiently manage all excise-tax-relevant data: from creating and changing master data and displaying material movements right through to analysing the data for the tax authorities – each and every detail has been seamlessly integrated. The options for automatically classifying tax documents and calculating the tax base specifically for each type of tax are particularly advantageous since they facilitate overall management and ensure a higher level of transparency throughout the process.
Implementation of Krones’ software module has assisted Wein Wolf in ensuring that all processes to do with excise tax run efficiently and statutory regulations are complied with while at the same time providing the flexibility required for the SAP conversion. The Krones solution is vivid proof that tax processing does not have to be complicated. It is in fact easy to handle when fit-for-purpose tools are used.
The Krones team was always at our side with their first-rate support, solving any challenges fast and with professional expertise. Nina OlbrückHead of the supply chain management team at Wein Wolf GmbH
