2. Odyssey is a CRM web server that resides in Vineland, NJ. The
server is connected to two (2) T1’s that have an aggregated
upload / download capacity of three (3) Mb’s.
The documents and database do not reside on the web server.
Both of these critical pieces of data reside on an internal server
behind the firewall.
The server is available 24 x 7 and is browser friendly. Meaning
that Netscape and Internet Explorer can be used to view
information from this sight.
Data displayed on the web sight can be copied and pasted into
any Microsoft compatible program. The server currently support
Microsoft Word and Excel uploads for sharing of information.
General Overview - Odyssey
3. Toolbar
Menu Bar
Data Field
Key Components of Odyssey
The Odyssey sight is comprised of three basic components. The Toolbar
for shortcuts, the Menu Bar for system functions and the data field for
displaying selected information.
4. Resets your login. Closes your
current page and sends you
back to the login page.
Shows all bid activity for the current
month in a desktop blotter format.
You can also advance or deprecate
the monthly view.
Shows your activity and scheduled
user activity for the month. You
can move between months to view
forthcoming and historical activity.
Logs you off Odyssey.
Toolbar Functionality
5. The bid calendar provides a simple calendar view of bids and their due dates.
The calendar provides a listing of monthly activity, that is interactive, allowing
the user to ‘drill down’ into each displayed job. The ‘drill down’ process, loads
the bid project into the Data Field, with all associated project information.
Use the calendar
to keep track of
daily, weekly
and monthly
bids.
It provides an
effective
management
tool for
upcoming
events.
Bid Calendar
6. Projects provides a search engine to quickly locate a
project, categorizes projects that your involved with and
offers an archive section for you to store and review non-
reported data.
Planning allows secure users to add personnel to project
reports, manage contact information and maintain criteria
for data reporting.
Reports offer building tools for creating customized
reports, displaying forecasts, reporting aging on bids
and assists the users with critical reviews on their data
integrity.
Bulletin Board allows users to send critical project
information directly to other Odyssey users.
Feedback is an IT and Executive area that allows
information to be shared, new reports to be tested and
support assistance from non IT related staff.
Menu Bar Functionality
7. Search For A Project : Allows the user to enter (1) project
number or (2) project name for searches. The system then
provides a match to all information found.
Enter A New Project : Creates a master project page from which
to fill in the details of a new project. A total of 24 fields are used
with only 14 being mandatory.
My Projects : Lists all projects that, you, as the person logged in,
are assigned too or own.
My Archive Projects : All project that you own, but do not want
reported on forecasting, executive or regional reports.
All Open Project : List every project that is in the system. (
except Lost, Closed, Cancelled or Archived projects )
All Closed Projects : Lists every project that is Closed. ( except
Archived Projects ).
All Sold Projects : Lists every project that has been Sold. (
except Archived Projects ).
Projects Menu
8. Reports Summary : Date range report that provides a summarized
listing of project information, using drop down selections and key
word searches.
Reports Detailed : Adhoc report writer that permits multiple
selections and filters to build customized, detailed reports.
Forecast Reports : Reports that are used by Regional Managers and
Executives to develop monthly projections of bid awards. Some
customizations exist here.
Bid Status : Adhoc report writer that allows all projects to be
displayed in as an Aging Report. ( 30/60/90/120 days ) Filters
include BC, Regional and Bid Type.
Archive Reports : Unavailable At This Time.
User Reports : Displays your data health. If any of your projects
are missing key data elements this report provides information on
what’s wrong and what’s missing.
Users ALL : Same report as above, but Executives and Regional
Managers have access to all users.
Reports Menu
9. Enter A New User : Authorized individuals can create a new
user on the Odyssey system. However, the user will not be active,
until the IT staff issue that person a password.
List Maintenance : Maintenance to the database can be made by
Executive, Regional and IT staff members. Changes to Business
Centers status, add users to BC’s, change country codes, add
compeditors, add equipment. Change equipment.
My Projects : Lists all projects that, you, as the person logged in,
are assigned too or own.
My Contacts : If the users on Odyssey are maintaining their
INFO, this contact area will show you their current status, as
regards travel / vacations, etc.
Enter A New Contact : Contacts allows you to add someone to
the Odyssey system, without a password. They will receive
updates on projects that they are assigned too, but will not be able
to log into Odyssey. E-Mail only will be sent.
Update My Info : Allows you to change your personal details in
the system, such as phone, address, contact info.
My Out-of-Office Planner : This permits the user to maintain a
listing of out office dates and the associated activity, which will
provide feedback via e-mail or through the my contacts display.
Planning Menu
10. Project modifications,
that are made after the
initial project is entered
occur here. This is your
principal menu for
adding information as
the project progresses.
Research tools are
available here. This
includes customer
lookups into
ChemFeed customers
and US Filter Piovtal
data mining.
Project header information. This is the who,
what, where and when of the project.
Classifications, bid dates, principals and other
data are keyed to reports.
Project Basics
11. Project Data Entry
1. PROJECT NAME : Projects names should be
taken either from the bid document or the
document from which the project was originally
sourced ( ie., dodge report name )
2. PROJECT LOCATION : Be concise, specify the
city and state where this project is to be delivered
and / or installed.
3. PROJECT OWNER : Specify the municipality or
company that will receive this product, not the
consultant or engineering firm your are bidding
too.
4. PRODUCT CATEGORY : Select from the ‘broad’
categorization of product you will be bidding.
Later you have the chance to detail the category
in the ‘equipment’ area of this quote.
5. PROBABILITY % - 10 to 50 is low probability, 60
to 80 is medium and greater than 80 is high
probability. 100 percent is guaranteed.
6. REGIONAL MANAGER : Pick the Manger from
the drop down list of authorized RM’s.
7. PROJECT ASSIGNED TO : Assign the project to
an Odyssey user. Assign yourself if necessary.
This is the champion of the project.
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12. Project Data Entry
8. BUSINESS CENTER : Select an approved
business center from the drop down list. ( ie.,
Bradley, Vineland, Canada )
9. PROJECT NUMBER1 : Enter the bid document
reference. Be sure to use the actual bid project.
10. PROJECT NUMBER2 : If your quoting more
thank one party, insure you enter the top two
bidders RFQ number in 1 & 2.
11. ORDER VALUE1 : Calculate the total of Bid1
from the equipment section. Enter the value here.
12. ORDER VALUE2 : Enter the second quote or
option quote for equipment here. Use the greatest
value or highest probability of win when deciding
which two too include.
13. PENDING ORDER CYCLE : The time, in weeks,
that award can be expected. Very Important, Very
Important.. Did I mention very important.
14. TYPE OF PROJECT : You have four selections to
choose from Design/Bid, Design/Build, Direct Bid,
Direct Purchase.
15. PROJECT STATUS : When bidding it’s either
FIRM or BUDGETARY. When submitted it’s either
PENDING AWARD or ORDER PENDING.
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13. Project Data Entry
16. BID DATE : Define the date of bid. If you don’t
know the date, put it 6 mo. 12 mo. or greater.
Push the bid outside the forecasting envelope.
17. PROJECT ORIGIN : Try to define where this
project came from. There are 12 possibilities, we
can add additional as required.
18. COMPEDITOR : Present competitors are listed in
the drop down selection. If you need to add
another company, send the information to MIS or
your Regional, we’ll add them.
19. COMPETITOR PRICE : If you WIN, enter the
next lowest bidder and change the competitor
name. If you LOSE, enter the winners info.
20. LOST REASON : This is a freeform field. You can
be creative or you can simply say price.
21. LOSE EXPLANATION : If it’s an issue, if there’s
objections on the bid, spell it out here. It will help
cut down on e-mails.
22. MARKETS : If your not sure about what markets
this project covers, seek advise from your
Regional.
23. ORIGIN DATE : Date the bid originated ( when
found ).
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14. Project Updating
A project can be updated from the edit menu.
As the user adds information to the project,
data is populated into segmented folders below
the project header.
15. Equipment Data Entry
Adding an equipment quotation involves five mandatory fields
1. Type of equipment – All ChemFeed equipment is listed, simply pick the item offered.
2. Specification Format – Listed are the known formats used by bid staff.
3. Specification Quality – Presently offered in five format listings.
4. Estimated Price – The bid price being proposed
5. Competitor – The top ranked competitor bidding against you on this project.
Comments are non-mandatory and are offered at the discretion of the application engineer or
salesmen to annotate his/her stipulations on the quoted pricing.
16. Add Team Members
Adding project team member
is a simple process. You select
the “Add Project Team
Members” menu item. The
system will then provide a
classification for the user your
about to add. ( shown to the
right )
When you select a
classification, a list of
matching candidates are
displayed a new window.
( show to the left )
When complete you’ll be sent
back to the Member add in
screen. You can select DONE
to return to the project or add
another team member.
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17. Add Update Milestones
Milestones are classified in
two varieties, bid phase and
project phase.
1. After the job is awarded, you
can add milestones to track
the projects deliverables.
2. Prior to award, you can
identify, key dates in the bid
process.
Use this menu to select a milestone designation and target
date. You can elect to leave out the actual date. If you should
wish to modify milestones, simply chose the update link next
to the listed milestones above the entry window. Select
DONE when to return to your project.
18. Upload Documents
To support your project,
you may wish to upload
documents. Selecting this
option opens the following
window, allowing you to
load files from your
computer to the server.
Types of Documents to Upload
• Quote
• Purchase Order
• Order Acknowledgement
• Submittal
• Return Submittal
• Approved Submittal
• Excel Workbk 1
• Excel Workbk 2
• Excel Workbk 3
You must select either
W&T or STRANCO
Document settings
before upload. Simply
click the radio button
next to the company
name.
19. Add Update Milestones
Send/Post messages is a quick way to e-mail the members of the
project team about a change to your bid or project. The team
members and project name are automatically listed. You need only
check the name of who to contact and type your message.
The message is designed as a simple e-
mail. Do not attempt to paste images or
other information into the comments
box.
Click Send to complete your message
transmittal. A copy is automatically
stored on the project message board.
20. Add Activity
You can add a BID specific activity to the
project to keep track of key dates. Activity
types include ;
Bid Format Review
Comments
Final Specification Review
Preliminary Specification Review
Product Demo
Sales Presentation
NOTE
Specify a product type in
the activity. You may be
working on more than
one product.
Activities are
posted to the
Project message
board
automatically.
!
21. Data Mining
Data mining allows users to go outside the Odyssey database
and search the financial systems of ChemFeed or the master
CRM system ‘Pivotal’ for US Filter.
This research tool helps the user determine if ChemFeed has
had prior work with this customer or if US Filter as a whole
is working or has worked in this area.
Pivotal search utilities are
offered to high level users on
Odyssey. These include a
Report Builder and an Adhoc
Search utility.
!
22. Data Mining - Pivotal
Reports display opportunity status, US
Filter group, project name, dollar value
and much more.
Drilldown provide further details such as
bid team members, phone numbers,
contacts, project narrative, End user,
Contractor and Engineering firm.
Pivotal Research
Displays
23. Data Mining - MRP
MRP research allows the high level users to select which ChemFeed business
platform to interogate. The user selects the ChemFeed BC and then inputs a
customer name inquiry. The output is a list of companies that match the inquiry (
including partial matches ).
MRP order status and history are available through the Odyssey portal, providing
access to (1)Vineland, (2)Bradley, (3)Union, (4)Canada, (5)Mexico and
(6)Tonbridge.
Inquiries are made against customer Bill to names. Real-time results provide
complete order history listings to the user.
24. Data Mining - MRP
History allows drilldown into
customer Bill-To / Ship-To
and component purchases.
Providing true order detail in
real-time.
NOTE
Stranco order history is
slow. Typically inquiries
may take up to 60 or 80
seconds.
!
25. Summary Report Builder
The summary report builder is an very
simple tool. It builds reports based on
predetermined drop down criteria and
keyword searches. This report builder is
often referred to as the simple report writer.
NOTE – Default date is 60 days
Drop down menu’s offer single
selection criteria for each
delimiter. This gives you the One
or All principal of report writing.
!
26. Summary Report Builder
Summary reports offer
simple outputs.
They group the data
that is found into BC’s
then subgroup them
into type of projects.
The projects are
summarized by
number, name, location
and value.
The user can ‘drill
down’ into the project
by clicking on the
project number.
Color bands represent the type of bid. Users familiar
with Odysey will recognize these bands quickly and
easily. See the main page for color distinctions.
27. Detailed Report Builder
The detailed report builder operates in a
similar fashion to the summary report
builder. But offers a greater flexibility.
It allows multiple selections of various
delimiters.
The user may select
any number of
variations to refine or
delimit his/her report.
The user can now
quickly run an all
encompassing report,
then begin refining
the information as
they see fit.
28. Detailed Report Builder
The detailed report output contains double the fields than that of the summary report,
offering bid date, entry date, status and other useful information. The report also
comes with a header summary, which describes the ‘adhoc’ criteria that was used to
arrive at this level of detail.
The reports also includes total project value and has a summary total at the bottom of
the page. Regional Mangers often use this report to determine monthly activity.
29. Forecasting Reports
Three types of forecasting reports
are available on the Odyssey
platform. These include :
Simple selection criteria are
offered while complex
calculations are stored within
the report builders
1. BC Forecasting
2. Regional Manager Forecasting
3. Product Forecasting
!
30. BC Forecasting
Forecast reports by BC can snapshot upcoming business and quickly
display what bids are high probability wins and which ones are out of reach.
Forecasting reports
will continue to
evolve, but details
such as these
graphically relate
business to the user
without extensive
manipulation.
Business Center
Forecast
31. Product Forecasting
Forecast reports by product can help manufacturing executives determine
upcoming projects, helping them to get a jump on raw materials.
Product forecasts
don’t supply exact
details by specific
product, but they do
group projects by
product category.
Staff can then drill
down into the quote
details to determine
the projects content.
Product by BC
Forecast
32. Regional Forecasting
Regional forecast reports compile any projects which are assigned under a
regional manager. These forecasts aide in reviewing Regional territories.
Regional forecasting
is grouped by
probability of win,
then sorted
ascending by date of
award. If multiple
awards fall on the
same day, the drill
down will break out
these multiple bids.
33. Bid Status Report
Bid status is an aging report on bids that have been submitted. The report helps mangers to
stay on top of submitted bids, that have not yet been awarded. The report groups projects
by the applicable project manager, then groups the bids into 30, 60, 90 and 120 day
segments, with color coded queues.
Managers can use the ‘adhoc’ report writer in Bid Status, to quickly select information by
type of bid, BC or Regional Manager. Project drill downs allow the user to quickly update
information, which is immediately reflected in the on-line report.
34. User Reports
User reports provide a project health assessment to your inputted data. Your projects are
analyzed for missing information and are also targeted if older than one year. Managers
have access to all users and can review a users status to help maintain accurate forecasting.
2 Bids failed
because the bid
date is missing.
Three projects are
over one year. You
may need to archive.
!
!
35. Enter A New User
Permission to enter a new user is available to most managers, application engineers,
regional managers and executives. The fields are easily interpreted and require little
explanation. Your new user will only access after MIS sends them a password.
User security is based on a users
classification. If you try to enter a
new user as an Executive or high
level access, you will receive an
e-mail from MIS asking for
authorization from your
immediate supervisor.
You can add users with lower
level access, but users outside of
US Filter and Vivendi will require
supervisory approval.
36. My Contacts
My contacts is simply a listing of all contacts in the system address book.
It allows users to quickly check schedules, find users phone and contact
information or determine their e-mail address.
Click here : Opens an e-mail message
Click here : Opens users contact information
Click here : Opens users activity and plans
37. List Maintenance
List maintenance is a high level user
access area. Here you can add new
BC’s to the system, swap users to new
BC’s, close BC’s, add competitors or
add equipment.
This will not be covered in this training
seminar since much of this functionality
is unavailable to the average user.
Individual training will be provided for
users who request this training.
38. Enter A New Contact
Entering a new contact is exactly the same as a new user. However, the contact
will not be issued access to the Odyssey system.
Why would I enter a contact ?
You may wish to have an
important contact listed in the
project, to advise other
participants. Important contacts
could include the project
engineers name, number and e-
mail address, or you could
include the contracts admin., for
technical and legal references.
39. Update My User Info
All users, except Rep.’s, are permitted to change their user information. Your
current profile is displayed on screen. Once you change SUBMIT your
information, changes will become permanent.
NOTE
This is a great way to
change your annoying
password in Odyssey.
Instead of bothering the IT
people. ( hint )
!
40. Out off Office Planner
Critical projects require up-to-date information and the office planner is a great
way of notifying bid and project staff of your whereabouts.
You can provide information on
travel, vacation, personal leaves
and a number of other absence
notices.
This isn’t just to advise your
people, you can use the
contacts that you’ve entered as
potential e-mail recipients.
Your entire bid team can be
advised quickly and easily of
your plans.
