STANDARD OPERATION PROCEEDURES

1. Field management

   1. Select peony varieties that meet the market tastes and requirements.

   2. Maintain the proper nutrient levels by using soil tests every year.

   3. Provide adequate water to encourage proper bud size.

   4. Remove side buds early in season, to increase main bud size.

   5. Utilize an Integrated Pest Management system. Use natural and organic pest control when possible.

   6. Remove all peony stems and debris from the field at the end of the season.

2. Harvest

   1. Buds will be harvested in a condition so they will open within one to three days of arrival.

   2. Stems will have a minimum length of 16 inches. (Variation maybe negotiated for shorter varieties.)

   3. When buds are harvested, they will be promptly placed in a cooler to remove the field heat within one and a half hours of harvesting.

   4. Harvest bud count will be entered daily, NLT (define NLT) 6:00 PM

3. Processing

   1. Process in a cool environment (at what maximum temperature?.

   2. Process peonies once the field heat has been removed.

   3. Process in a cool environment (suggested processing temperatures should range as close to 32.9  as possible).

   4. Inspect each peony to ensure they are disease and pest free, do not contain any reproducible invasive or noxious species and are in top quality condition.

   5. Remove no more than one leaves unless they are damaged.

   6. Group stems in a way that accommodates inventory management.

   7. Place or re-place in cooler as soon as possible.

   4. Sales/order taking

1. The PRODUCTION PARTNERPRODUCTION FARMS will check its email daily, early morning, midday, and early evening to check for orders that may have come in.

2. If the PRODUCTION PARTNERPRODUCTION FARM is contacted directly by any WHOLESALE BUYER(s) that originally contacted the PRODUCTION PARTNERPRODUCTION FARM through the services of ALASKA PEONY BROKERALASKA PEONY FARMS, the PRODUCTION PARTNERPRODUCTION FARM will process all orders received from these WHOLESALE BUYERS, through the ALASKA PEONY BROKERALASKA PEONY FARMS Point of Sale (POS) systemOS. (This rule applies for two years after the termination of any contract with ALASKA PEONY BROKERALASKA PEONY FARMS is made.)

3. When an order is received, contact the WHOLESALE BUYER by phone to confirm order details AND CONFIRM ALL ORDERS IN DETAIL BY RECEIPTED EMAIL TO BUYER,

4. Make tracking files to ensure timely processing of all orders. Suggested files are as follows: potential orders, pending orders, received orders to ship, shipped orders, re-shipped/refunded orders, cancelled orders.

5. Ensure the order is immediately pulled from the general inventory and reserved for the WHOLESALE BUYER.  In the case of orders placed through the F2World Shopping portal an update will occur automatically to any inventory listed in the Floral Sync Inventory Management System. IN THE CASE OF SALES OCCURING OUTSIDE APBAPF’S SOFTWARE SYSTEMS MAKE SURE TO IMMEDIATELY UPDATE YOUR INVENTORY IN APBAPF’S INVENTORY MANGEMENT SYSTEM (FLORAL SYNC)ON THE BROKER’S POINT OF SALE (POS) SYSTEM.

6. Buds for each order will include buds of all sizes, measuring one-inch or larger, unless otherwise specified by WHOLESALE BUYER.

7. WHOLESALE BUYER will be given a truthful evaluation of the quality and vase- life of specific varieties being considered at the time of the order.

8. Once the tested vase-life of harvested buds have fallen below 5 days the PRODUCTION PARTNERPRODUCTION FARM will notify the BROKERAGE concerning stem quality and provide the WHOLESALE BUYER this information when calling to confirm orders and any related details.

 

5. Storage

1. Buds best if they are dry stored at 33 degrees  (32.9   is optimal)Fahrenheit.

2. The temperature of the cooler is logged morning and evening every day.

3. Ensure adequate cooling- unit capacity, and limit large or frequent cooler air-exchange, to quickly return cooler to optimum temperature after door(s) are closed.

4. The cooler is closely monitored daily, for any quality control issues. Any arising issues will be noted in the cooler log.

5. When an order is received, the order is pulled from the general cooler inventory, and separated to a reserved inventory shelf/ shelf area, and labeled with the shipping order, to ensure the product is available at the time of the scheduled shipment date.

6. The reserved inventory shelves/areas are inspected every two to three days to ensure that the product is in excellent shape. Such inspection will be entered in the cooler log. Any quality issues that arise are dealt with immediately, and buds are replaced, as needed to maintain the correct number of buds to fill all reserved orders.

7. If a change in bud quality significantly alters the performance of the buds reserved for an order, the PRODUCTION PARTNERPRODUCTION FARM will notify the WHOLESALE BUYER  will be notified immediately by phone and/or email; and.  work with the WHOLESALE BUYER to exchange other variety(s) to fill the order, or refund the money.  the PRODUCTION PARTNERPRODUCTION FARM will advise the BROKER as promptly as possible to assist BROKER in finding alternate product to cover Buyer’s requirements.

8. Inventory is adjusted daily in the inventory management system, (Floral Sync) to reflect inventory changes through either removal through outside sales, expired product, or entry of newly harvested product.

9. Storage sanitation will be maintained through keeping the shelving, floors, and cooling unit clean and wiped down.

10. Newsprint shelf liners can be used to reduce moisture/metal to petal damage of stored bunches.

11. Cooler will be kept at 80 to 90 percent humidity.

12. Weekly bud vase-life trials need to be conducted on all varieties after two weeks in the cooler. When bud- life drops below 7 days, vase-life tests will be conducted every three days. PRODUCTION FARM will notify the BROKER and WHOLESALE BUYERS of reduced bud life of potential orders.

13. PRODUCTION FARMS will stop selling buds with less than 5 days of bud life, except for special requests by desperate WHOLESALE BUYER who are explicitly advised by Email about the reduced expected shelf-f life.

 

6. Foreign Sales

1. All foreign sales are considered, “Special Orders,” and as such must be coordinated on an individualized basis through the BROKER in order to assure proper shipping charges are assessed.

2. Foreign sales must go through the proper phytosanitary inspection, and then be isolated in a cooler that is separate from the general product cooler.

3. Shipping may require refrigerated trucking and storage of orders prior to being loaded on the airline/carrier that is transporting them overseas.

4. All other procedures apply.

 

7. Packing

1. All buds which are older than two (2) weeks will be hydrated between two and twelve hours prior to packing.

2.  Boxes and packing materials will be prepared no later than the afternoon/evening for the next day’s shipments.

3.  Packing will include a minimum of three (3) frozen gel- packs, with more for larger boxes, PRODUCTION FARM contact information,  ALASKA PEONY FARMS and , peony care instruction sheet unless not needed because of the Buyer’s experience.

4. Depending on the type of order placed (ie. large wholesale-order vs. small designer-order) packing will also include

5.  a combination of the following:

   • Shredded paper cushioning,

   • Newsprint wrapper

   • Extra cushioning material

   • Jab hooks and rubber bands, or zip-ties to prevent product shifting during shipment

   • PRODUCTION PARTNER contact information (excluded upon wholesaler request), peony care instruction sheet, Flower food packet(s)

6. See packing procedures sheet for guidelines.

7. Tape the box closed along all seams of the lid and bottom.

8. Combine boxes by taping them together to create one package, when possible.

9. Apply warning stickers for “Fragile”, “Do not freeze”, “Fresh Flowers” on the top of the box

 

8' Shipping

1. Print shipping labels using FedEx account.

2. INSURE ALL CONTENTS AT FULL VALUE.

3. Ship priority overnight shipping to ensure delivery is in the morning.

4. Arrive with enough time for the FedEx counter personnel to process the shipment, or have FedEx pick up order. Because it may result in a 24-hour delay, shipment pickup by FedEx may not be a good option is undesirable.  Delivery in-person directly to FedEx airport facility allows sufficient time to make the early plane.

5. If traveling long distances to make shipment, maintain the cold chain if possible. Consider using a TedsBox or refrigerated truck.

6. EMAIL THE TRACKING NUMBER TO THE WHOLESALE BUYER and ALASKA PEONY FARMS, the day of shipment, and check the order’s tracking on the day of delivery,

7. Call the WHOLESALE BUYER to verify receipt and condition of shipment.

 

1. Re-shipment

1. If a WHOLESALE BUYER rejects an order, determine the issue(s) by photos and a phone call, and determine if new product can be shipped in time to fill the order. Offer either re-shipment or refunding the price of the portion of the order that needs replaced. Contact ALASKA PEONY FARMS by email regarding the issue(s) surrounding the shipment.

2. Reship free of charge.

3. If product does not open in time for the event, after picture and phone call, offer to reimburse or replace.

4. Enter information as to cause, and a copy of the photos into the order’s records and place the records in the re-shipped invoice file. Send ALASKA PEONY BROKERALASKA PEONY FARMS a copy of this information as well.

5. If rejection of orders becomes a repetitive issue of more than two times, PRODUCTION FARM will request assistance from ALASKA PEONY FARMS and put into effect Broker’s commercially reasonable quality control and shipping recommendations.

 

1. WHOLESALE BUYER follow-up

1. Every WHOLESALE BUYER is contacted by the PRODUCTION FARM on the day of shipment arrival, and customer satisfaction will be noted in an order log.

2. ALASKA PEONY FARMS will contact each WHOLESALE BUYER at the end of the season to have the WHOLESALE BUYERs complete a season survey of the service provided by each PRODUCTION FARM.

3. All stems  must be in excellent shape condition, free from wilt, rot, damage and/or disease.

4. Stems must be a minimum of 16 inches in length, or longer if required by the WHOLESALE BUYER. Exceptions to length requirements may be used with approval of the WHOLESALE BUYER.