Seller Tools Overview – DTN Exchange

Chat overview

The Chat feature makes negotiating on DTN Exchange easier. This feature allows the buyer or seller to initiate a chat session. This can assist in communicating and negotiating deals.

Use chat to agree on volumes and/or price, and then the buyer can place the appropriate bid/order.
Use chat if the buyer is negotiating an existing bid/order or have yet to place one. You can place an order for the buyer directly from chat.
Use chat so the buyer can ask the seller questions about a particular offer or general questions.

Chat options

On the Chat page, you’ll see the following options:

I am visible to Buyers as Available for Chat: When selected, you appear on the Buyer’s contact list. If deselected, you seem offline.
Available for Group Accept: Any incoming chat message can be answered by anyone in your company who has this option selected as well.

Using Chat

Location: Seller > Seller Tools > Chat

Here’s how to use Chat:

Click Chat next to the desired seller to start a session. Only sellers online display.
Enter the information in the Chat window and click Send.

NOTE: An audible alert sounds on the seller’s desktop indicating a new chat. During a chat, if no response is received, after a period of 90 seconds, a new audible sounds reminding the buyer or seller to respond.

If the conversation should be saved, click Save. Conversations can be exported to a .csv format.
Click End Chat to close the chat.

Track matched trades as they occur so you can better manage your hedge imbalance.

Hedge Minder and Hedge Meter overview

The Hedge Minder screen and the Hedge Meter pop-up allow you to track matched trades as they occur so you can better manage your hedge imbalance.

You can use Hedge Minder and Meter to hedge your trades. First, make sure you have set the pop-up blocker on your Internet browser to allow pop-ups. The Hedge Meter is set to on by default and pops up when you launch the Hedge Minder screen. So when a trade occurs, you hear the sound of a cash register and the Hedge Meter displays the new trade in red font for 5 seconds.

NOTE: The Hedge Meter pop-up does not display if your Internet browser blocks pop-ups.

As trades occur throughout the day, the Hedge Meter totals the number of gallons sold for a product class and indicate your hedge imbalance. The hedge imbalance is the (total trade Gallons Sold minus the Gallons Hedged) divided by 42,000 (the number of gallons required for a contract on the NYMEX). Gallons Sold equals the total of all non-canceled trades. Gallons Hedged equals the total of all trades that have been hedged, including trades that were successfully canceled.

The tick column for each prompt transaction gives you the market base price at which a transaction occurred so that you can take an appropriate hedge action. Once you enter a hedge action for a transaction, your hedge imbalance will be automatically adjusted.

After a trade is canceled, its volume is removed for the Gallons Sold portion of the calculation, but included in the Gallons Hedged portion if the hedge action has already been taken. The system removes the trade volume from the Gallons Sold column of the Market Summary page.

Hedge Minder interface

Here are the different fields on the Hedge Minder page:

Field	Description
Terminal Groups	Lists the terminal groups in your DTN Exchange database.
Terminal	Lists the terminals in your DTN Exchange database.
Product Class	Lists the product classes in your DTN Exchange database.
Product	Lists the products in your DTN Exchange database.
Date Range	Display options for the date range are: today, past 2 days, or past 7 days.
View	You can view actions that are pending, actions that have already been taken place, or both (All).
Hedge Meter	Use to turn the Hedge Meter on or off. The pop-up blocker on your Internet browser must be turned off in order for the Hedge Meter to display.
Prompt Months	This pane displays information for trades on prompt offers.
Forward Months	This pane displays information for trades on forward offers.
Weighted Average Price	Indicates the weighted average for the total amount of product you have sold through the trades displayed for the selected terminal group/terminal and product class/product. Does not include canceled trades.
Total Quantity	Total quantity for the gallons attached to all trades for the selected filters. Does not include canceled trades.
Weighted Average Tick	Indicates the weighted average for the tick price. Does not include canceled trades.
Hedge Action	This field lets you enter your hedge actions to keep the Hedge Minder current. Click the selection box for the transaction for which you have taken a hedge action. Click Take Hedge Action for either prompt months or forward months as appropriate. A “Y” for “Yes” is entered into the column and your hedge imbalance adjusts. If C is displayed, the trade has been successfully canceled but not hedged. You can click the selection box to take hedge action if desired. If Y-C is displayed, the trade has been successfully canceled AND hedged.
ID	The unique identifier for the hedge.
Terminal	The terminal attached to the trade.
Product	The product attached to the trade.
Buyer	The buyer who placed the trade.
Quantity	The number of gallons of product attached to the trade.
Price	The price per gallon at which the trade occurred.
Trade Date	The date and time that the trade matched.
Market	The market base on which the tick for the trade was based.

Hedge Meter interface

The Hedge Meter automatically pops up when you launch the Hedge Minder screen, if your Internet browser has been set to allow pop-ups.

NOTE: The Hedge Meter displays trades for the terminal group/terminal and product class/product filters currently set for the Hedge Minder screen. You may have other matched trades for other products and for products at other terminals. In order to see them in the Hedge Meter, you would need to open the Hedge Minder screen and re-filter the information as needed.

Field	Description
Prompt Months	Displays matched trades on prompt months.
Forward Months	Displays matched trades on forward months.
Hedge Imbalance	Indicates the number of contracts you need to buy in order to meet the volume sold through matched trades for the product class. Calculated by the system as uncovered Trade Gallons divided by 42,000 (the amount required by NYMEX for one contract).
Trades	The number of uncovered trades, that is, the number of trades on which you need to take action in order to reduce your hedge imbalance.
Today’s Gallons	A running total of the number of gallons of product involved in matched trades for the current day.
Today’s Trades	A running total of the number of offers matched for the current day.

View your Trades

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Hedge Minder

Select the Terminal Groups, Terminals, Product Class, and/or Products you want.
Select a Date Range and View.
The screen displays any trades on prompt and forward offers.

Activate the Hedge Meter

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Hedge Minder

The Hedge Meter doesn’t display if you have pop-up blockers.

Select the Terminal Groups, Terminals, Product Class, and/or Products you want.
In the Hedge Meter field, select On.

Take Hedge Action

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Hedge Minder

Click the selection box in the Hedge Action column for the trade against which you wish to take action for prompt or forward months.
Click Take Hedge Action.
This subtracts the trade from the Hedge Meter hedge imbalance and other fields to indicate that hedge action on a trade has occurred.

Track bids as they are received, review them, and if desired, accept them.

Bid Minder overview

The Bid Minder screen and the Bid Minder pop-up allow you to track bids as they are received, review them, and if desired, accept them. First, make sure your browser’s pop-up blocker is set to allow pop-ups.

NOTE: The Bid Minder pop-up doesn’t display if you have pop-up windows blocked.

The Bid Minder is set to off by default and pop-ups with the initial launch of the Bid Minder screen each day. When a bid is received, you’ll hear the sound of a coin dropping and the Bid Minder displays the new bid in red font for 5 seconds.

The Bid Minder displays bids for the terminal group/terminal and product class/product filters as currently set in the High Bids Overview screen. You may have other bids for other products and for products at other terminals. In order to see them in the Bid Minder, open the High Bids Overview screen and re-filter the information as needed.

NOTE: Price changes happen every 20 seconds. What’s displayed on your screen may not be the most up-to-date price.

Bid Minder interface

Here are the different fields on the Bid Minder page:

Field	Definition
Terminal Groups	Lists the terminal groups in your DTN Exchange database.
Terminal	Lists the terminals in your DTN Exchange database.
Product Class	Lists the product classes in your DTN Exchange database.
Product	Lists the products in your DTN Exchange database.
Bid Types	Allows you to display Prompt or Forward bids.
Settings tab	Allows you to adjust the following settings: Enable Bid Minder Popup: Use to turn the Bid Minder On or Off. The pop-up blocker on your Internet browser must be turned off in order for Bid Minder to display. Bid Type: Select if you’d like to see Prompt bids, Forward bids, or both. Enable Bid EMail Alerts: If you’d like to receive emails when you receive a bid, select On. EMail Address: Enter the email address to receive the alerts.
Bid Minder	Use to turn the Bid Minder On or Off. The pop-up blocker on your Internet browser must be turned off in order for Bid Minder to display.
Prompt Months	This pane displays information for trades on prompt offers.
Forward Months	This pane displays information for trades on forward offers.
Accept	When you click the selection box and the Accept button, the bid is accepted.
Terminal	The terminal attached to the bid.
Product	The product attached to the bid.
Buyer	The buyer who placed the bid.
Bid Time	The date and time the bid was submitted.
Quantity	The number of gallons of product attached to the bid.
Bid Price	The price per gallon that was bid by the buyer.
Offer Price	Your offer’s current price per gallon for the bid. For a forward offer, this is the weighted price per gallon according to the bid’s monthly volumes.
Chat	Prompt offers only. Allows you to open a chat window to a buyer who placed the bid, even if the buyer isn’t currently available.
SOT	Prompt offers only. Takes you to the Seller Originated Trade page.
Month/Year	Forward offers only. Breaks down a forward bid month by month.
Total	Total quantity of product that the buyer is interested in purchasing on a forward bid.

Bid Minder pop-up interface

Here are the different fields on the Bid Minder pop-up:

Field	Definition
Prompt Months	Displays active bids from your buyers on your prompt offers.
Forward Months	Displays active bids from your buyers on your forward offers.
Product	The product attached to the bid.
Terminal	The terminal attached to the bid.
Buyer	The buyer submitting the bid.
Bid Time	The date and time the bid was submitted.
Gallons	The number of gallons of the product the buyer would like to purchase.
Price	The price per gallon that the buyer is offering to pay.

View your Bids

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Bid Minder

Select the Terminal Groups, Terminals, Product Class, and/or Products you want.
Select an option for Show.
The screen displays any bids on prompt and forward offers.

Activate the Bid Minder

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Bid Minder

NOTE: The Bid Minder doesn’t display if you have pop-up blockers.

Select the Terminal Groups, Terminals, Product Class, and/or Products you want.
Under the Settings tab, select On by Enable Bid Minder Popup.

Accept a Bid

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Bid Minder

If the product inventory is less than the bid quantity, a screen alert displays. The alert gives you the option to jump to the Inventory screen in order to update product inventory.

1. In the Bid Minder screen, filter the display to find the bid you want to accept.
2. Click the Accept Bid check box.
3. Click Accept. A message appears indicating if the bids were accepted.

Provides a quick glance at your prompt offers and what is happening within your buyer market.

Market Summary overview

NOTE: The Market Summary displays information on prompt offers only. To view forward offers, see the Forward Offers screen.

The Market Summary screen provides a quick glance at your prompt offers and what is happening within your buyer market. You can use this screen to manage prompt offers by terminal group or terminal for each product class and specific products, and it is refreshed every 5 seconds. To view forward offers, use the Forward Offers screen.

Offers are summarized for a specified terminal group, terminal, product class, and/or product. You can display active, suspended, and/or inactive offers. The information includes the number of gallons sold, the number of gallons remaining, your price per gallon, the posted price per gallon, and the highest and lowest bids on the forward offer, if any.

If you need to make changes to product inventory, you can open the Inventory screen by clicking the Set Inventory link at the top of the screen. To view terminal activity, click the link for the terminal; the Terminal Activity screen opens.

Market Summary interface

Here are the different fields on the Market Summary page:

Term	Definition
Terminal Groups	Lists the terminal groups in your DTN Exchange database. Use the drop-down menu to select a terminal group for filtering.
Terminal	Lists the terminals in your DTN Exchange database. Use the drop-down menu to select a terminal for filtering.
Product Class	Lists the product classes in your DTN Exchange database. Use the drop-down menu to select a product class for filtering.
Product	Lists the products in your DTN Exchange database. Use the drop-down menu to select a product for filtering.
Offer Type	Lets you filter the display to information according to whether an offer is active, suspended or inactive.
Terminal	Lists terminals that match your filter criteria. When you click the terminal name, a Terminal Activity screen for the selected terminal displays; here you can see your offers and bids, and accept bids as desired.
Product	Lists products available at the corresponding terminal.
Gallons Sold Today	Shows the number of gallons of product that were sold today. Does not include canceled trades.
Gallons Remaining	Shows the number of gallons of product that are still available. This value is based on your Inventory screen, where you initially defined the volume available for each product at a terminal. As market orders and bids are matched, the Gallons Remaining are automatically decremented. This number appears in red font when the amount is within less than five order increments of the minimum order quantity.
Status	Indicates the status of any offers or bids for the product at the selected terminal. Options are as follows: A = Active S = Suspended I = Inactive
My Price	Displays your price per gallon for the corresponding product and terminal, as defined through either the Group Pricing or the Forward Offers screen.
Posted Price	Displays the posted price per gallon for the product. When you roll your mouse pointer over the price, the effective date of the price will be displayed. NOTE: This may look different than the posted price you send to DTN because the posted price here is in net terms. Those are the kind of terms offered through the DTN Exchange.
High Bid	Displays the highest bid for the offer as made by one of your buyers.
Low Bid	Displays the lowest bid for the offer as made by one of your buyers.

View a summary of Prompt Offer

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Market Summary

From the Market Summary page, select the filter criteria you want for terminal group, terminal, product class, and/or product.
Click the selection box or boxes for the Offer Type(s) you want. Options include Active, Suspended, and Inactive.
Any offers matching your criteria appear in the display pane.

View the effective date of a Posted Price

Location: Seller > Selling Tools > Market Summary

From the Market Summary page, hold the mouse over the posted price.
The effective date (if available) appears.

Immediately activate or suspend your offers globally for all terminals or on a terminal group by group basis. Can set markets to automatically activate at a pre-defined start time and suspend at a pre-defined end time. Can set days of the week that your markets are open/closed, or define holidays throughout the year when your offers won’t auto-activate.

Suspend/Resume overview

You can use the Suspend/Resume screen to immediately activate or suspend your offers globally for all terminals or on a terminal group by group basis. Alternatively, you can set your markets to automatically activate at a pre-defined session start time and suspend at a pre-defined session end time. Both of these settings (activate/suspend and pre-defined start/stop times) can be defined differently for prompt offers and forward offers. Combined settings are available for the days of the week that your markets are open or closed, as well as holidays and other dates throughout the calendar year when your offers should not auto-activate.

You can use the Trading Status tab to get a quick breakdown of active, suspended, and inactive offers at all terminals or at your various terminal groups. You can also use this screen to immediately activate or suspend all offers at all terminals or at selected terminals. That lets you shut down trading for a terminal group where product is running low. Sellers also use this screen to temporarily suspend and then reactive trading while they update their pricing and offer formulas to match sudden market changes.

You can use the Market Activation tab to define session start and end times for your base markets and then flag them for auto activation. Auto activation can save you the step of coming to the Suspend/Resume screen to start and end your trading sessions each day. On the other hand, if your sessions are set up for auto activation, trading will begin and your buyers will be presented with offers, whether or not you remember to put your profit margins in for the day. That’s why some sellers prefer to leave the Auto Activate box unchecked, and then come into Suspend/Resume to start and end each session after they’ve reset their pricing for the day.

The Calendar Week tab lets you select the days of the week that your markets are open.

The Calendar Year tab lets you specify days throughout the year, such as holidays, when your offers will not auto-activate.