Revenue Recognition, Contracts with Customers

Revenue from contracts with customers is recognized using a five-step model consisting of the following: (1) identify the contract with a customer; (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation. Performance obligations are satisfied when the Company transfers control of a good or service to a customer, which can occur over time or at a point in time. The amount of revenue recognized is based on the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services, including the expected value of variable consideration. The customer’s ability and intent to pay the transaction price is assessed in determining whether a contract exists with the customer. If collectability of substantially all of the consideration in a contract is not probable, consideration received is not recognized as revenue unless the consideration is nonrefundable and the Company no longer has an obligation to transfer additional goods or services to the customer or collectability becomes probable.

Description of Revenue Generating Activities

We employ sales, marketing and customer service personnel throughout the world who sell and market our products to and/or through a large number of distributors, fabricators, converters, e-commerce and mail order fulfillment firms, and contract packaging firms as well as directly to end-users such as food processors, foodservice businesses, supermarket retailers, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare facilities, medical device manufacturers, and other manufacturers.

As discussed in Note 5, "Segments," of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, our reporting segments include: Food Care and Product Care. Our Food Care applications are largely sold directly to end customers, while most of our Product Care products are sold through business supply distributors.

Food Care:

The Food Care division focuses on providing processors, retailers and food service operators a broad range of integrated system solutions that improve the management of contamination risk during the food and beverage production process, extend product shelf life through packaging technologies, and improve merchandising, ease-of-use, and back-of-house preparation processes. Our systems are designed to be turn-key and reduce customers’ total operating costs through improved operational efficiencies and reduced food waste, as well as lower water and energy use. As a result, processors are able to produce and deliver their products more cost-effectively, safely, efficiently, and with greater confidence through their supply chain with a trusted partner.

The business largely serves perishable food and beverage processors, predominantly in fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, beverages, poultry and dairy (solids and liquids) markets worldwide, and maintains a leading position in the applications it targets.

Product Care:

Product Care provides the industries we serve with a wide range of sustainable packaging solutions designed to reduce shipping and fulfillment costs, increase operational efficiency, reduce damage, and enhance customer and brand experience. While serving a broad range of industries and market sectors, Product Care solutions are especially valuable to the E-Commerce Fulfillment, General Manufacturing, Electronics and Transportation sectors. The breadth of the Product Care portfolio, extensive packaging engineering and technical services, and global reach supports the needs of multinational customers who require excellent, consistent performance and supply reliability.

Today, Product Care solutions are largely sold through business supply distribution that sells to business/industrial end-users. Additionally, solutions are sold directly to fabricators, original equipment manufacturers/contract manufacturers, third party logistics partners, e-commerce/fulfillment operations, and at retail centers, where Product Care offers select products for consumer use on a global basis.

Identify Contract with Customer:

For Sealed Air, the determination of whether an arrangement meets the definition of a contract under Topic 606 depends on whether it creates enforceable rights and obligations. While enforceability is a matter of law, we believe that enforceable rights and obligations in a contract must be substantive in order for the contract to be in scope of Topic 606. That is, the penalty for noncompliance must be significant relative to the minimum obligation. Fixed or minimum purchase obligations with penalties for noncompliance were the most common examples of substantive enforceable rights present in our contracts. We determined that the contract term is the period of enforceability outlined by the terms of the contract. This means that in many cases, the term stated in the contract is different than the period of enforceability. After the minimum purchase obligation is met, subsequent sales are treated as separate contracts on a purchase order by purchase order basis. If no minimum purchase obligation exists, each purchase order represents the contract.

Performance Obligations:

The most common goods and services determined to be distinct performance obligations are consumables/materials, equipment sales, and maintenance. Free on loan and leased equipment is typically identified as a separate lease component in scope of Topic 840. The other goods or services promised in the contract with the customer in most cases do not represent performance obligations because they are neither separate nor distinct, or they are not material in the context of the contract.

Transaction Price and Variable Consideration:

Sealed Air has many forms of variable consideration present in its contracts with customers, including rebates and other discounts. Sealed Air estimates variable consideration using either the expected value method or the most likely amount method as described in the standard. We include in the transaction price some or all of an amount of variable consideration estimated to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.

For all contracts that contain a form of variable consideration, Sealed Air estimates at contract inception, and periodically throughout the term of the contract, what volume of goods and/or services the customer will purchase in a given period and determines how much consideration is payable to the customer or how much consideration Sealed Air would be able to recover from the customer based on the structure of the type of variable consideration. In most cases the variable consideration in contracts with customers results in amounts payable to the customer by Sealed Air. Sealed Air adjusts the contract transaction price based on any changes in estimates each reporting period and performs an inception to date cumulative adjustment to the amount of revenue previously recognized. When the contract with a customer contains a minimum purchase obligation, Sealed Air only has enforceable rights to the amount of consideration promised in the minimum purchase obligation through the enforceable term of the contract. This amount of consideration, plus any variable consideration, makes up the transaction price for the contract.

Charges for rebates and other allowances are recognized as a deduction from revenue on an accrual basis in the period in which the associated revenue is recorded. When we estimate our rebate accruals, we consider customer-specific contractual commitments including stated rebate rates and history of actual rebates paid. Our rebate accruals are reviewed at each reporting period and adjusted to reflect data available at that time. We adjust the accruals to reflect any differences between estimated and actual amounts. These adjustments of transaction price impact the amount of net sales recognized by us in the period of adjustment. Revenue recognized in the three months ended March 31, 2018 from performance obligations satisfied in previous reporting periods is approximately $2.0 million.

The Company does not adjust consideration in contracts with customers for the effects of a significant financing component if the Company expects that the period between transfer of a good or service and payment for that good or service will be one year or less. This is expected to be the case for the majority of contracts.

Sales taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are accounted for on a net basis and therefore are excluded from net sales on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Allocation of Transaction Price:

Sealed Air determines the standalone selling price for a performance obligation by first looking for observable selling prices of that performance obligation sold on a standalone basis. If an observable price is not available, we estimate the standalone selling price of the performance obligation using one of the three suggested methods in the following order of preference: adjusted market assessment approach, expected cost plus a margin approach, and residual approach.

Sealed Air often offers rebates to customers in their contracts that are related to the amount of consumables purchased. We believe that this form of variable consideration should only be allocated to consumables because the entire amount of variable consideration relates to the customer’s purchase of and Sealed Air’s efforts to provide consumables. Additionally, Sealed Air has many contracts that have pricing tied to third party indices. We believe that variability from index-based pricing should be allocated specifically to consumables because the pricing formulas in these contracts are related to the cost to produce consumables.

Transfer of Control:

Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control to the customer. Revenue for consumables and equipment sales is recognized based on shipping terms, which is the point in time the customer obtains control of the promised goods. Maintenance revenue is recognized straight-line on the basis that the level of effort is consistent over the term of the contract. Lease components within contracts with customers are recognized in accordance with Topic 840.

Disaggregated Revenue

For the three months ended March 31, 2018, revenues from contracts with customers summarized by Segment Geography were as follows:




(In millions)	Food Care		Product Care		Total
North America	$	341.0	$	249.9	$	590.9
EMEA⁽¹⁾	155.7		101.1		256.8
Latin America	91.0		11.8		102.8
APAC⁽²⁾	103.7		69.9		173.6
Topic 606 Segment Revenue	691.4		432.7		1,124.1
Non-Topic 606 Revenue (Leasing)	4.9		2.0		6.9
Total	$	696.3	$	434.7	$	1,131.0


⁽¹⁾	EMEA = Europe, Middle East and Africa


⁽²⁾	APAC = Asia, Australia and New Zealand

Contract Balances

The time between which a performance obligation is satisfied and when billing and payment occur is closely aligned, with the exception of equipment accruals. An equipment accrual is a contract offering, whereby a customer is incentivized to use a portion of the consumables transaction price for future equipment purchases. Long term contracts that include an equipment accrual create a timing difference between when cash is collected and the performance obligation is satisfied, resulting in a contract liability (unearned revenue). The opening and closing balances of contract assets and contract liabilities arising from contracts with customers as of March 31, 2018 were as follows:



(In millions)	December 31, 2017		January 1, 2018, as adjusted		March 31, 2018
Contract assets	$	—	$	—	$	—
Contract liabilities	3.1		5.5		6.3

Revenue recognized in the three months ended March 31, 2018 that was included in the contract liability balance at the beginning of the period was $0.7 million. This revenue was driven primarily by equipment performance obligations being satisfied.

The contract liability balance represents deferred revenue, primarily related to equipment accruals. The increase in the first quarter of 2018 to deferred revenue was driven predominately by new contracts recently entered.

Remaining Performance Obligations

Our enforceable contractual obligations tend to be short term in nature, and the following table below does not include the transaction price of any remaining performance obligations that are part of the contracts with expected durations of less than one year. Additionally, the following table summarizes the estimated transaction price from contracts with customers allocated to performance obligations or portions of performance obligations that have not yet been satisfied as of March 31, 2018, as well as the expected timing of recognition of that transaction price.



(In millions)	Short-Term (12 months or less)		Long-Term		Total
Total transaction price	$	2.8	$	3.5	$	6.3

Assets recognized for the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract

The Company recognizes as an asset incremental costs to fulfill a contract if they are expected to be recovered, relate directly to a contract or anticipated contract, and generate or enhance resources that will be used to satisfy performance obligations in the future.

The Company recognizes incremental costs to obtain a contract as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the asset that otherwise would have been recognized is one year or less. For example, the Company generally expense sales commissions when incurred because the amortization period would have been one year or less. These costs are recorded within sales and marketing expenses.

Costs for shipping and handling activities performed after a customer obtains control of a good are accounted for as costs to fulfill a contract and are included in cost of goods sold.