The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed: -

TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] The present disclosure relates to the field of efficiently managing products and services for the consumers and other stakeholders in the supply chain.

BACKGROUND

[002] In general, the activities performed in the supply chain maintain the availability of the products and their related services to the consumers at a reasonable price. Also, these activities can be performed with the focus on increasing profits for the stakeholders in the supply chain by cutting excess costs and delivering faster to the consumer. On the contrary, these activities can disintegrate the supply chain when the stakeholders focus on maximizing their individual profits rather than maximizing the benefits for the supply chain and the consumers. Every stakeholder in the supply chain individually forecasts the consumer demand of a product and/or related services based on their visibility in the supply chain to ensure the fulfillment of this consumer demand. The assessment of the consumer demand without the visibility to similar demand forecasts by other stakeholders can lead to misunderstanding of the actual consumer demand. Such differences and information gaps lead to inaccuracies in the demand forecasted by all stakeholders in the supply chain resulting in supply inefficiencies such as shortage or excess of supply, delay in demand fulfillment, price distortions, leakages in the excess inventory through damage, pilferage, expiry, and the like. Therefore, the stakeholders failing to accurately assess the consumer demand can lead to failure of the very purpose of the supply chain.

[003] The stakeholder in the supply chain can be a consumer, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, or a supplier. A consumer may rely on personal memory, paper notes or similar informal methods to monitor products and services procured in the past, that are to be procured in the future and that are currently in the inventory. Therefore, it may be difficult for the consumer to accurately track the current inventory and assess the future demand of such products and services based on past procurements and consumptions. Similarly, since such products and services may be procured from a wide range of vendors and channels by the consumer, the available quantity of products and their shelf lives may not be actively tracked while the upcoming services may not be tracked for timely reminders. Therefore, assessing the future demand of such products and services, planning for their procurement, and managing the current inventory can be difficult to regularly practice.

[004] In addition to these difficulties, any errors with the informal methods may cause the consumer to lose additional resources in effort, time, and money to take corrective action like repeating a procurement, cancelling an incorrectly placed order, returning excess, and discarding expired quantity.

[005] Further, the consumer must plan to efficiently maintain the products in inventory and use the related services availed for such products without wastage, shortage, expiry, or an emergency procurement. These products can range from, but not limited to, groceries having a short shelf life to the stationery products having irregular consumption to a high value life-saving drug that cannot be out of stock. [006] Products placed in storage spaces that are difficult to reach or out of direct sight may be forgotten or ignored. Consumer may lose track of the available quantity and remaining shelf-life of such products and their related services, resulting in emergency procurement for shortages and wastage or expiry of excess inventory.

[007] In traditional methods of fulfilling demands of stakeholders in the supply chain, a retailer may not be able to fulfill an unexpected peak in consumer demand due to shortage of products or may lock cash in excess inventory when demand has unexpectedly fallen. Such changes in consumer demand may cause the retailer to rapidly alter the subsequent orders placed with the wholesaler, the next stakeholder in the supply chain. Such consolidated fluctuations in the demand across retailers will result in the wholesaler responding with rapid changes to the inventory levels of the product.

[008] As the demand moves up the supply chain, the wholesalers place substantially altered orders with the manufacturers to fulfill the fluctuations in the demand across retailers. The manufacturers are influenced to respond with distortions in their production plans to address the fluctuating inventory levels demanded by the downstream stakeholders in supply chain. Such increasingly swinging levels in demand moving upstream in the supply chain, called the bullwhip effect, leads to supply chain inefficiencies because this demand gets increasingly distorted from the actual consumer demand. Alternatively, if the upstream stakeholders in the supply chain can have direct visibility to the demand of the consumer, then the product can be produced and accordingly the required quantities of inventory can be moved through the supply chain as per the actual consumer demand. Without direct visibility to the consumer demand, such fluctuations may be additionally amplified when the stakeholders panic to either empty their inventory or order more than necessary in anticipation of a spike in demand causing an uncontrollable bullwhip effect.

[009] Similar issues of bullwhip effect can as well be observed in the assessment and fulfillment of the demand pertaining to services of such products.

OBJECTS

[0010] The principal object of the embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for managing products and services in the supply chain to efficiently utilize them and reduce wastage.

[0011] Another object of the embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for visual representation of the storage spaces and the inventory in these storage spaces for easy access to the users.

[0012] Another object of the embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for connecting consumers to reduce wastage and efficiently utilize products and related services.

[0013] Another object of the embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for connecting consumers and vendors for consumers to avail offers, procure products and services from vendors.

SUMMARY

[0014] Accordingly, the embodiments herein provide methods and systems for managing products in the supply chain to efficiently utilize them and to reduce the wastage of products.

[0015] A method for managing at least one product and at least one service in a supply chain to at least one consumer, the method comprising: receiving, by a processor (210), at least one input from at least one consumer from at least one electronic device (102); providing, by a consumer connect engine (112), at least one service from a plurality of services to at least one consumer based on the received at least one input from at least one consumer, wherein the plurality of services includes identifying the location of at least one consumer, connecting with at least one consumer, offering at least one product and availing at least one product by at least one consumer; providing, by a vendor connect engine (114), at least one service from a plurality of services to at least one consumer based on the received at least one input from at least one vendor, wherein the plurality of services includes identifying the location of at least one vendor and at least one consumer, connecting at least one vendor and at least one consumer, offering at least one product to at least one consumer and at least one consumer availing at least one product from at least one vendor; and generating, by the processor (210), a virtual inventory map depicting the visual representation of at least one storage space and listing at least one product in at least one storage space based on the availability of at least one product in an inventory list of at least one consumer.

[0016] A managing system comprising: a processor coupled to an application server, a consumer connect engine and a vendor connect engine configured to: receive at least one input from at least one consumer from at least one electronic device; provide at least one service from a plurality of services to at least one consumer based on the received at least one input from at least one consumer, wherein the plurality of services includes identifying the location of at least one consumer, connecting with at least one consumer, offering at least one product and availing at least one product by at least one consumer; provide at least one service from a plurality of services to at least one consumer based on the received at least one input from at least one vendor, wherein the plurality of services includes identifying the location of at least one vendor and at least one consumer, connecting at least one vendor and at least one consumer, offering at least one product to at least one consumer and at least one consumer availing at least one product from at least one vendor; and generate a virtual inventory map depicting the visual representation of at least one storage space and listing at least one product in at least one storage space based on the availability of at least one product in an inventory list of at least one consumer.

[0017] These and other aspects of the example embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating example embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the example embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the example embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0018] Embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates an environment for managing products and services in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0020] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram illustrating various units of an electronic device, which is used to manage products and services in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0021] FIG. 3a and 3b depicts a system for managing products and services in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0022] FIG. 3c and 3d is an example diagram illustrating the consumer connect feature and vendor connect feature for managing products and services in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0023] FIG. 4a is an example diagram depicting the visual representation of the storage spaces for easy view to the users, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0024] FIG. 4b is an example diagram of the virtual inventory map depicting the visual representation of the products placed in storage spaces and services used for such products, for easy monitoring by the users, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0025] FIG. 5 is an example diagram illustrating the process of managing products and services in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0026] FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram illustrating various units of a managing system to reduce the wastage in the supply chain and to efficiently utilize products and related services, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0027] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for managing products and services in the supply chain to reduce the wastage and to efficiently utilize them, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The example embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well- known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The description herein is intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the example embodiments herein can be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the example embodiments herein. Accordingly, this disclosure should not be construed as limiting the scope of the example embodiments herein.

[0029] The embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for managing products and services - together hereafter referred as “products”- in the supply chain to reduce the wastage of such products and to efficiently utilize such products. The embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for connecting consumers, allowing a consumer to select products in the inventory list and offer the selected products to the nearby consumers to avoid wastage of the products. The embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for connecting consumers to the vendors, checking the availability of products offered by the nearby vendors, procuring such products from a vendor, and tracking the procured products in the consumer’s inventory list post procurement. The embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for providing a visual representation of the user’s storage spaces and the inventory of products in these storage spaces for easy access to the users.

[0030] Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 7, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown example embodiments. [0031] FIG. 1 illustrates an environment 100 for managing products in the supply chain as per the embodiments disclosed herein to reduce the wastage of products and utilize the products efficiently. As illustrated in FIG. 1, environment 100 includes an electronic device 102, connected to a network server 110 through a communication network 106. The electronic device 102 may be connected to the communication network 106 and connected to an application server 108 through the network server 110. The electronic device 102 may be connected to network server 110 through the communication network 106 and/or at least one other communication network (not shown).

[0032] The electronic device 102 referred herein may be a device that enables user(s) to manage at least one product and to perform at least one operation in the supply chain. In an embodiment, the electronic device 102 may be a user device that is being used by the user to connect, and/or interact, and/or control a plurality of other devices. In another embodiment, the electronic device 102 may be a server that may be deployed to connect other devices. The server may be configured as a hardware device independent of the environment but is not limited thereto. Examples of the electronic device 102 may be, but not limited to, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a video phone, a computer, a tablet personal computer (PC), a netbook computer, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a workstation, a server, and so on.

[0033] The server 108 and the electronic device 102 may be connected using the communication network 106. The communication network 106 may include at least one, but is not limited to, a wired network, a value-added network, a wireless network, a satellite network, or a combination thereof. Examples of the wired network may be, but are not limited to, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), an Ethernet, and so on. Examples of the wireless network may be, but are not limited to, a cellular network, a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Zigbee, Wi-Fi Direct (WFD), Ultra-wideband (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), near field communication (NFC). In another example, the electronic device 102, may be connected to another electronic device via a relay, a hub, and a gateway. It is understood that the electronic device 102 and the server 108 may be connected in any of various manners (including those described above) and maybe connected in two or more of various manners (including those described above) at the same time.

[0034] The server 108 referred herein may be a server that receives, stores, and manages the device information and the transactional information involved in the supply chain management. The device information may include device identification information, device location information, and the like. The device identification and device location information can be stored in and retrieved from the server 108, based on the request generated by the user.

[0035] The device information may include information such as but is not limited to, an identification value (for example device ID information/unique identifier) of the electronic device 102, a device type, and so on. In an example herein, the identification value/device ID information may be, but is not limited to, a Media Access Control (MAC) identifier (MAC ID), a serial number, a unique device ID, and so on. The location information includes information about a location of the electronic device 102. The device location information can be tracked using location tracking system which may include, but not be limited to, global positioning system (GPS), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and the like. The server 108 can store the device identifying information and the device location information. The server 108 may update the device information, the functional capabilities, and location information of the devices 102.

[0036] The server 108 can receive, store, manage and perform various operations with the transactional information generated in the supply chain management. The transactional information may include, but not limited to, products added to the inventory list, tracking of products in the inventory list, generating virtual inventory map, expiry notifications generated for the products, transactions between consumers on the consumer connect feature, transactions between consumers and vendors on the vendor connect feature, products added to the shopping cart, orders created for vendors to fulfill, orders received by the vendors and the like.

[0037] The server 108 receives such transactional information when the users perform the corresponding operations on the electronic device 102. The users referred herein can include supply chain stakeholders such as consumers and vendors hereafter collectively referring to retailers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, suppliers, and the like. The operations performed by the users in the supply chain can include consumer actions like, but not limited to, adding products to the inventory list, updating the storage space references, updating expiry dates, adding products to the shopping cart, creating orders for vendors to fulfill products, monitoring products in inventory list using the virtual inventory map, performing transactions with others consumers on the consumer connect feature, performing transactions with vendors on the vendor connect feature, and other inventory management activities like returns transactions. The operations performed also can include vendor actions like, but not limited to, creating Product Catalogue for the consumers to view, receive orders from consumers, fulfillment of such orders received, publishing offers for the consumers to avail, and the like. [0038] The products referred herein can be categorized into categories like, but not limited to, groceries, stationery, electronics, appliances, fashion, beauty, health, entertainment, kitchen, garden, automotive, utilities, services related to maintenance, travel, financial, consulting, designing. These categories of products can have respective shelf lives applicable to the inventory of products determining product specific expiry information.

[0039] The consumer can perform addition of products to the inventory list by manually entering the product details like product code, description, price, quantity, purchase date, expiry date, vendor details, product category, and so on using the input unit 206. Therefore, the server 108 keeps track of products added to the inventory list by manual entry of the product details.

[0040] The server 108 can perform the addition of products to the inventory list based on the physical invoice of the orders received by consumer or based on the products received by the consumer. The products on the physical invoice can be added to the inventory list using the input unit 206 by scanning this invoice received from the vendor, or by reading the bar code on the products received by the consumer. In the former case, the input unit 206 of the electronic device 102 can be used to scan the invoice, that can be accessed by the server 108. The server can identify the products on the captured invoice and the corresponding attributes of the products, which are required to add the products to the inventory list. The attributes of the product can include the product details such as product code, description, price, quantity, purchase date, expiry date, product category, vendor details, invoice number, and so on. In the latter case, the details of the product can be obtained by scanning bar code and retrieving product details from databases of these product bar codes. In both cases, any missing product details which are required to add the products to the inventory list may be completed by the consumer manually.

[0041] The image of the product can be captured for additional reference using the input unit 206. This input unit 206 may be, but not limited to, image capturing unit, bar code reader, bar code scanner, keyboard, and the like.

[0042] On adding the products to the inventory list, the consumer can access the products from any location using the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102. The output unit 208 may be connected to the server 108 through the communication network 106. Server 108 can track the available quantity of the products and value of products in the inventory list. The server 108 can track the available quantity by recording the updates received from the consumer using the input unit 206 on the electronic device 102. The updates can include product transactions such as receipt of ordered products to the inventory list, consumption of products, return of the products, expiry of products, and the like. Thus, server 108 can track the available quantity of products in the inventory list and store the history of quantity consumed or expired or returned. The server 108 can track the value of the available quantity of products in the inventory list based on the individual price of the products.

[0043] The server 108 allows the consumer to maintain the storage space for the products in the inventory list and the hierarchical information of such storage spaces. The storage space information can be used for generating the visual representation of the storage spaces and the products stored in storage spaces can be displayed on this visual representation for easy visibility to the consumers. The consumer may access the storage space on the visual representation to instantly view the products available in the inventory list. The storage space information maintained in the server 108 may include, but are not limited to, a simple descnption, a code indicating the storage space, and the like.

[0044] The server 108 can provide the storage space and their hierarchical information maintained by the consumer to the processor 210 to generate the visual representation of the storage spaces. Also, the processor 210 can access the storage space information for the products in the inventory list to display such products on this visual representation of storage spaces.

[0045] The visual representation can be configured by the processor 210 by first receiving from the server 108 the list of storage spaces maintained for the products in inventory list and then using the hierarchical information for these storage spaces maintained in the server 108 to relate them. The hierarchical information stored in the server 108 is based on the input from the consumer to identify the hierarchy level of every storage space listed for the products in the inventory list and to identify their parent storage space. Each storage space on the list is identified with a hierarchy level, say, from level 1 to level 3. For instance, level 1 storage spaces are the main storage spaces that can have products placed within them and storage spaces identified with the hierarchy level 2 within them. Similarly, the level 2 storage space can have products placed within them and storage spaces identified with the hierarchy level 3 within them. The level 3 storage spaces can have no further storage spaces within them and can only have products placed within them. Similarly, server 108 seeks from the consumer to identify the parent storage space for each storage space on the inventory list other than the main storage spaces, say, for each storage space identified with a hierarchy level 2 and 3. For instance, the level 3 storage spaces will have one of the level 2 storage spaces as their parent storage space. And the level 2 storage spaces will have one of the level 1 storage spaces as their parent storage space. The level 1 storage spaces will not have any storage spaces identified as their parent storage space since they are the main storage spaces in the inventory.

[0046] Examples of these storage spaces can include house, office, stores, supermarket, grocery store, convenience stores, other places. Storage spaces may further have storage spaces within them. Examples of such storage spaces within a storage space may include the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms within a house, and cabinets, shelves, refrigerator, countertops, dry place, wet place within the kitchen. Another example of such storage spaces within a storage space may include racks and shelves in a grocery store.

[0047] The visual representation of the storage spaces defined with the hierarchy level and parent storage space is thus configured by the processor 210 for display to the consumer on the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102.

[0048] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram illustrating various units of an electronic device, which is used to manage products in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. As depicted in FIG. 2, the electronic device 102 may be but not limited to a computing device, a handheld device, a server like a personal computer, a notebook, a tablet, a desktop computer, a laptop, a mobile device, and so on.

[0049] The electronic device 102 may include an input unit 206, a memory 202, a processor 210, an output unit 208, and a communication interface 204. The input unit 206 may be but not limited to image capturing unit, bar code reader, location identification unit such as GPS (Global Positioning System), a keyboard and the like. The keyboard may be a hardware keyboard or a soft keyboard which replaces the hardware keyboard with an on-screen interactive image of the keyboard on an input unit 206. [0050] The input unit 206 may be configured to add products to the inventory list, the shopping cart, and the orders either by manually entering the details using the keyboard or by using the bar code reader to obtain the product details to be added. The product details may include but are not limited to product code, description of the product, price of the product, quantity of the product, purchase date, expiry date, vendor details and product category. When using the barcode reader, the product details may be retrieved from databases of product bar codes by scanning the bar code on the products. The image capturing unit as part of the input unit 206 can be used to capture the image of the product additionally along with the product details. Also, the input unit 206 can be used to add products to the inventory list by scanning an invoice into an image, sending this image to the server 108 and configuring the server 108 to fetch the product details from this image using the optical character recognition technology. The input unit 206 may be similarly used to edit, update, or delete the already added products in the inventory list, shopping cart and orders.

[0051] The input unit 206 can be configured to receive requests from the consumer to connect with other consumers based on the location and radius of vicinity. The location of these consumers can be identified by the location identification unit, such as GPS enabled in their respective electronic device 102. The server 108 stores this location information and identifies it with the location of the storage space used by a consumer for storing products. The consumer enters the radius of vicinity using the input unit 206 and is stored in the server 108. On receiving the request from the offering consumer to connect with other consumers, the processor 210 retrieves the location and radius of vicinity from the server 108, calculates to define the area of vicinity, searches in the server 108 for other consumers with their location within this area and connects the offering consumer with them on the consumer connect engine 112 if the offering consumer s location too falls in their area of vicinity.

[0052] Similarly, the input unit 206 can be configured to receive requests from the vendor to connect with the consumers based on their location. The location of the consumers and vendors is identified by the location identification unit, such as GPS enabled in their respective electronic device 102. The server 108 stores this location information and identifies it with the location of the storage space used by the vendors and consumers for storing products. The vendor also enters the radius of vicinity using the input unit 206 and is stored in the server 108. On receiving the request from the vendor to connect with consumers for offering the Product Catalogue, the processor 210 retrieves the location and radius of vicinity from the server 108, calculates to define the area of vicinity of the vendor, searches in the server 108 for consumers with their location within this area and connects the vendors with them on the vendor connect engine 114 such that the Product Catalogue is now visible to such consumers.

[0053] The processor 210 may comprise of one or more processors. The one or a plurality of processors may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, a graphics-only processing unit such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a visual processing unit (VPU).

[0054] The processor 210 may be configured to connect consumers with one another on the consumer connect engine 112. A consumer can select products from inventory list displayed on the output unit 208 to create the Give-Away list using the input unit 206 of the electronic device 102. The Give-Away list created is transmitted by the communication interface 204 and is stored on the server 108. When the processor 210 enables a consumer to be connected with other consumers on the consumer connect engine 112, the products on the Give-Away list of the offering consumer is retrieved by the processor 210 on the electronic device 102 of the other consumers from the server 108 that stores the product details previously entered by the offering consumer. On viewing the Give-Away list, other consumers can select products of interest and transact them on mutual agreement using their respective electronic device 102. Such transaction of products on the Give-Away list from the offering consumer to the other consumer is transmitted by the communication interface 204 and stored on the server 108. Therefore, this transaction serves the purpose of enabling the transfer of the desired products from the inventory list of the offering consumer to the inventory list of the other consumer interested in those products.

[0055] Similarly, the processor 210 may be configured to connect the consumers and vendors on the vendor connect engine 114, allowing the consumers to view the Product Catalogue offered by a vendor on the output unit 208 of their respective electronic device 102. The Product Catalogue is retrieved by the processor 210 from the server 108 that stores the Product Catalogue previously entered by the vendor using the input unit 206 of its electronic device 102. On viewing the Product Catalogue, the consumers select products of interest from this Product Catalogue and place orders with the vendor using the input unit 206 of their respective electronic device 102. The created order is transmitted to the server 108 by the communication interface 204 for the purpose of tracking with the vendor as the vendor views such open orders on the output unit 208 on the electronic device 102 and fulfills the orders.

[0056] The server 108 can be configured to automatically propose products into a consumer’s shopping cart based on the historical transactions of products. The historical transactions for a product include orders placed, quantities consumed, any quantities wasted / expired, and the like. Accordingly, the server 108 can propose the product into the shopping cart with the required quantity for the next procurement. Thereafter, the server 108 continues to track the products along with their ordered quantities as orders are created for the products on the shopping cart, and subsequently on the inventory list as the ordered product is received, consumed and / or expired, to assess the quantity of the product to be proposed in the next shopping cart. Such products added to the shopping cart are transmitted by the communication interface 204 and displayed to the consumer on the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102.

[0057] The server 108 can be configured to propose a preferred vendor and their offer price for each of the products on the shopping cart. The proposal is based on recently placed orders for each product by other consumers in the area of vicinity of the consumer. The server 108 analyses the recently placed orders for a product along with the vendor prices on those orders across all consumers to propose the vendor offering the product at the lowest price as the preferred vendor. Such preferred vendors proposed for each of the products on the shopping cart along with their respective offer prices are transmitted by the communication interface 204 and displayed to the consumer on the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102.

[0058] The processor 210 can be configured to generate the visual representation of the storage spaces referenced for the products in the inventory list according to the hierarchical information. Both, the storage space references and the hierarchical information of these storage spaces, are stored in the server 108 and transmitted to the electronic device by the communication interface 204. The visual representation can be configured by the processor 210 by first listing the storage spaces from the storage space information maintained for the products in the inventory list by the consumer and then using the hierarchical information of the storage spaces to relate them. The hierarchical information stored in the server 108 is based on the input from the consumer to identify the hierarchy level of every storage space and to relate the storage spaces by identifying the parent storage space. Each storage space on the list may be identified with a hierarchy level, say, from level 1 to level 3. For instance, level 1 storage spaces are the main storage spaces that can have products placed within them, and storage spaces identified with the hierarchy level 2 within them. Similarly, the level 2 storage space can have products placed within them, and storage spaces identified with the hierarchy level 3 within them. The level 3 storage spaces can have no further storage spaces within them and can only have products placed within them. The server 108 also seeks from the consumer to identify the parent storage space for each storage space on the list excepting the main storage spaces, say, the ones identified with a hierarchy level 2 and 3. For instance, the level 3 storage spaces will have one of the level 2 storage spaces as their parent storage space. And the level 2 storage spaces will have one of the level 1 storage spaces as their parent storage space. The level 1 storage spaces will not have any storage spaces identified as their parent storage space.

[0059] The visual representation of the storage spaces as per the defined hierarchy is displayed on the output 208 unit of the electronic device 102 and enables the users to easily view the storage spaces. Therefore, the consumer on entering the requested hierarchy level and parent storage space for each storage space enables the processor 210 to generate this visual representation.

[0060] The processor 210 can be configured to further map the products listed in the inventory list along with their information on this visual representation to generate the virtual inventory map. Therefore, the consumer can view the products in the virtual inventory map on the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102 by selecting a particular storage space on this virtual inventory map. Any recently procured products can be added to the storage space on the virtual inventory map and will be transmitted by the communication interface 204 to store in the server 108. Such product additions will reflect on the inventory list as well.

[0061] The memory 202 on the electronic device 102 may store details of the product details such as product code, description of the product, quantity of the product, purchase code, price of the product, purchase date, expiry date, vendor details and product category. The memory 202 may store the consumer and vendor details and their location information for connecting them on the vendor or consumer connect engine. The memory 202 can store the transactional information like inventory list, shopping cart and order information of the products as they get consumed, expired, returned, ordered, cancelled and so on. All such information is stored in the memory 202 of the electronic device 102 when they are retrieved from the sever 108 to be processed by the processor 210 before display on the output unit 208 and when they are input by the user on the input unit 206 before the processor 210 processes the data and sends to the server 108 for storage.

[0062] The memory 202 referred herein may include at least one type of storage medium, from among a flash memory type storage medium, a hard disk type storage medium, a multi-media card micro type storage medium, a card type memory (for example, an SD or an XD memory), random-access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), programmable ROM (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0063] The communication interface 204 may include one or more components using which the electronic device 102 communicates with another device (for example: another electronic device, and so on) using data communication methods that are supported by the communication network 106. The communication interface 204 may include components such as, a wired communicator, a short-range communicator, a mobile/wireless communicator, and a broadcasting receiver. The wired communicator may enable the electronic device 102 to communicate with the other devices (for example: another electronic device, the so on) using the communication methods such as, but not limited to, wired LAN, the Ethernet, and so on. The short-range communicator may enable the electronic device 102 to communicate with the other devices using the communication methods such as, but is not limited to, Bluetooth low energy (BLE), near field communicator (NFC), WLAN (or Wi-fi), Zigbee, infrared data association (IrDA), Wi-Fi direct (WFD), Ultrawide band communication, Ant+ (interoperable wireless transfer capability) communication, shared wireless access protocol (SWAP), wireless broadband internet (Wibro), wireless gigabit alliance (WiGiG), and so on.

[0064] The output unit 208 may be configured to provide an output to the user on the electronic device 102. The output may provide the information on products in the inventory list, shopping cart and orders to the consumers. The output unit 208 may display the virtual inventory map as visual representation of the storage spaces along with the product information of products available in those storage spaces. The output unit 208 may provide the information related to the quantity of product transacted and notifications on the products which will expire soon. Thus, these information and notifications on the output unit displaying the status of the product helps the consumers to be informed about the product availability.

[0065] The output unit 208 may also be configured to provide the travel route for the products on the shopping cart that have the preferred vendor available. The travel route displays to the consumers the shortest route to travel from the location of the consumer to the preferred vendors for procuring the selected products on the shopping cart, and back to the location of the consumer.

[0066] FIG. 4a is an example diagram of the visual representation of the storage spaces for easy view to the users, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

[0067] The server 108 also keeps track of the storage spaces used for storing the products in the inventory list based on the input from the consumer. The visual representation of the storage spaces can be generated by the processor 210 by first receiving from the server 108 this storage space information for the products in inventory list, the hierarchy level and parent storage space for each such storage space and then listing such products on the visual representation of the respective storage spaces. This complete visual representation is referred to as the virtual inventory map and enables the consumers to easily monitor the products in the storage spaces visually. Therefore, the consumer on entering the storage space information for products in inventory list, the hierarchy level for each such storage space and parent storage space for each storage space enables the processor 210 to generate the virtual inventory map for display to the consumer on the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102.

[0068] Thus, the consumer can easily view and monitor the products on the virtual inventory map by selecting a particular storage space on this virtual inventory map. The processor 210 enables the consumer to view products in the inventory list on this virtual inventory map displayed on the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102 and add recently procured products along with their other attributes on the same virtual inventory map by selecting a particular storage space using the input unit 206 of the electronic device 102. Such products added on the virtual inventory map are added to the inventory list on the server 108 as well. [0069] The server 108 can track the expiry date of the products and notify the consumers of the same before the arrival of the expiry date. The consumer can provide the server 108 with the expiry date for the individual products in the inventory list based on the purchase dates of those products. The consumer can also provide the server 108 with a desired lead time for generating expiry notifications applying to all products in the inventory list. This lead time is the number of days from when the server 108 generates the expiry notification for any product in the inventory list to the expiry date of the particular product in the inventory list. The server 108 generates expiry notification for a product based on this lead time before the arrival of the expiry date for the particular product. The expiry notification generated by the server 108 is displayed to the consumer on the output unit 208 of electronic device 102. Thus, the expiry notifications can be generated when the server 108 stores and monitors the expiry date of the individual products on the inventory list and the consumer’s desired lead time for notifying on a product’s expiry.

[0070] Also, the server 108 can track shelf life of product categories. Every product in the inventory list is identified into a product category and each product category can be identified with a shelf life by the consumer. If the consumer fails to provide an expiry date for a particular product in the inventory list based on their purchase date, the server 108 can use the shelf life of the product category to determine the expiry date of the product based on their purchase date. Thus, a product in inventory list without an expiry date provided by the consumer will be updated with an expiry date by the server 108 based on the shelf life of that product’s product category. The shelf life is the number of days from when a product is purchased to the expiry date of the product. Accordingly, this expiry date for a product may be used by the server 108 to generate the expiry notification for the product based on the desired lead tune of the consumer before the arrival of the product’s expiry date.

[0071] The consumers having any excess stock of a product in their inventory list which is not required or cannot be consumed before its expiry date can be identified using the input unit 206 of the electronic device 102. Such identified products are added into the consumer’s Give-Away list and stored on the server 108. The processor 210 can enable the consumer to connect with other consumers on the consumer connect engine to agree on transacting such products on the Give-Away list stored on the server 108. Thus, the wastage of products can be avoided by transacting the products on the Give-Away list with other consumers using the consumer connect feature. Similarly, the processor 210 can enable consumers to connect with vendors on the vendor connect engine so that the consumers having a shortage of a product in their inventory list can search for such products on the Product Catalogue offered by the individual vendor. Accordingly, a consumer may order for the required quantities of such products from a vendor to fulfill the shortage.

[0072] FIG. 3a and 3b depict a system for managing products in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for connecting the consumers and vendors on the vendor connect engine 114, thus allowing the vendors to offer catalogue of products to consumers for purchase by placing orders. Similarly, the embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for connecting the consumers on the consumer connect engine 112, thus offering products from one consumer’s inventory list to other consumers interested in availing the offer and transacting the product into their inventory list on mutual agreement.

[0073] The consumer connect engine 112 can provide the Give- Away list that allows the consumer to add products from the inventory list that they desire to giveaway to avoid wastage. The products on the Give- Away list can be viewed by other consumers within the area of vicinity of the offering consumer’s location on the consumer connect engine. Interested consumers within this area of vicinity of the offering consumer can view the products offered on the Give-Away list to bid for such products on the consumer connect engine 112. The offering consumer, if located within the area of vicinity of such bidding consumers, can accept the bid on the consumer connect engine 112 and the product is received into the bidding consumer’s inventory list on successfully completing the transaction. The consumer connect engine 112 makes the offering consumers’ Give-Away list visible to the interested consumers to bid and transact, when both the offering consumer and the interested consumers fall within each other’s area of vicinity.

[0074] The consumer connect engine 112 identifies the location of all the consumers using the location tracking system in their respective electronic device 102 which may include but not be limited to global positioning system (GPS), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and the like. Further, the location tracking system uses this location of the consumers to identify as the location of their respective storage spaces storing the products and the server 108 stores this location for all consumers respectively. The engine 112 can track the radius of vicinity as maintained by the consumers using the input unit 206 on the electronic device 102 and the server 108 can similarly store the radius of vicinity for all consumers. Therefore, the area falling within the radius of vicinity with the location as the center defines the area of vicinity for the consumer. The consumer connect engine 112 searches for interested consumers with their location falling within the area of vicinity of the offering consumer. The consumer connect engine 112 next filters out the interested consumers not having the offering consumer’s location within their area of vicinity. All such interested consumers gain visibility to the Give-Away list of the offering consumer on the consumer connect engine and can bid for the products to receive them into their inventory list.

[0075] For instance, in FIG. 3c, consumer A can offer products from the inventory list by creating the Give-Away list, which is visible to other consumers E and G as both consumers E and G fall within the area of vicinity of consumer A and consumer A falls within the area of vicinity of consumers E and G. Thus, consumers E and G can view the products offered on the Give-Away list by consumer A, while consumers B, C, D and F cannot. Consumers E and G can now bid for the products on the consumer A’s Give-Away list in parts or in full. Consumer A after accepting the desired bids confirms the successful bidders who can receive the offered product in parts or in full. On marking the transaction as complete by either the offering consumer or the successful bidder, the server 108 moves the product from the inventory list of the offering consumer to the inventory list of the successful bidders. Simultaneously, the server 108 removes this product from the Give-Away list of the offering consumer in parts or in full.

[0076] Similar to the consumer connect engine, the vendor connect engine 114 can provide the Product Catalogue that allows the vendors to add products for offer to consumers to procure by placing orders. The consumers can view the offered products and their details on the vendor’s Product Catalogue to place order for products selected from this catalogue. On delivery of the ordered products by the vendor and receipt by the consumer, the products are added into the inventory list of the consumer. The vendor connect engine 114 enables the Product Catalogue of a vendor to be viewed by consumers located within the area of vicinity of the vendor. Interested consumers within the area of vicinity of the vendor can view the Product Catalogue to select and place order for such products on the vendor connect engine 114. The vendor connect engine 114 identifies the location of the vendor and the consumer by the location tracking system on their respective electronic device 102, which may include but not be limited to global positioning system (GPS), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and the like. Further, the location tracking system uses this location of the vendor to identify the location of the Product Catalogue. The engine 114 can track the radius of vicinity as maintained by the vendor using the input unit 206 of the electronic device 102 and stored on the server 108. Therefore, the area falling within the radius of vicinity with the vendor’s location as the center defines the area of vicinity of the vendor. The vendor connect engine 114 can search for consumers with their location falling within this area of vicinity. All such consumers gain visibility to the Product Catalogue of that vendor, select desired products from the Product Catalogue, place order for such products and subsequently receive into their inventory list.

[0077] In FIG. 3d, consumers D and E can view the products offered on the Product Catalogue by vendor V as their locations fall within the area of vicinity of vendor V, while consumers B, C and F cannot. Thus, consumers within this search area of the vendors can view the product offered on their Product Catalogues and place orders for such products.

[0078] FIG. 3c and 3d are example diagrams illustrating the consumer and vendor connect engines managing products in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 3c, circles represent the areas of vicinity of the consumers and mutually overlapping circles represent potential consumers within the vicinity. Thus, to determine the consumers within the area of vicinity of consumer A, the location information, and the radius of vicinity of consumers is used. As depicted in FIG. 3c, based on the location information provided by the GPS and the radius of vicinity provided by the consumers, consumers E and G fall within the vicinity of consumer A, while consumers B, C, D and F do not.

[0079] As illustrated in FIG. 3d, circles represent the areas of vicinity of consumers and vendors, and overlapping of circles represent potential consumers within the vicinity of vendor V. Here, to determine the consumers within the area of vicinity of vendor V, the location information of other consumers is used along with the location information and the radius of vicinity of the vendor V. As depicted in FIG. 3d, based on the location information provided by GPS, consumers D and E fall within the area vicinity of vendor V, while consumers B, C and F do not.

[0080] The inventory list enables a consumer to be informed about the products currently available and that can be used by consuming them. Similarly, the server 108 can enable the consumer to plan future procurement of products by adding such products to the shopping cart that are to be purchased by specified dates. Subsequently, the vendor needs to be determined by the consumer who can fulfill the products on the consumer’s shopping cart.

[0081] The server 108 can store the products added to the shopping cart by the consumer using the input unit 206 of the electronic device 102. The products and their attributes required to add them to the shopping cart are provided by the consumer and are stored on the server 108 upon successful addition to the shopping cart. The attributes of the product can include the product details such as product code, product name, required quantity, purchase date, product category, vendor details like the preferred vendor, the offer price, and so on. Products on the shopping cart of the consumer can be ordered for procurement only when the consumer is able to identify a preferred vendor for purchasing the product and the vendor’ s offer price for the product. The image of the product can be captured for additional reference using the input unit 206. This input unit 206 may be, but not limited to, an image capturing unit, a bar code reader, a bar code scanner, a keyboard, and the like.

[0082] On adding the products to the shopping cart on the server 108, the consumer can access the products from any location on the output unit 208 of the electronic device 102 connected to the server 108 via the communication network 106. Server 108 tracks the product attributes of such products in the shopping cart.

[0083] In addition to the consumer manually adding products to the shopping cart, the consumer can mark certain products on the inventory list for automatic addition to the shopping cart. The server 108 can add such products to the shopping cart so that an order can be placed to procure and refill the product before the currently available quantity is fully consumed. The server 108 can periodically assess the required quantity for the product added to the shopping cart based on the history of quantities ordered for the product, the consumption quantities and any quantities wasted or returned by the consumer. Accordingly, the server 108 can update the product added to the shopping cart with the required quantity such that the product quantity is sufficiently refilled before the currently available quantity is fully consumed. The server 108 can propose vendor for each of the products on the shopping cart by searching for recently placed orders by other consumers in the vicinity of the consumer, identifying the order with the lowest purchase price for each product and identifying the vendor on this order as the preferred vendor. Accordingly, the server 108 can update the product on the consumer’s shopping cart with the preferred vendor and with the offer price based on the lowest purchase price.

[0084] The products remain in the shopping cart until the orders are placed by the consumer for the products. The consumer can manually correct the product attributes like the required quantity, preferred vendor, offer price before placing the orders for the products. [0085] Similar to the consumer connect engine 112 enabling the consumers to offer products in the inventory to other consumers by adding them to the Give-Away list, the consumer connect engine 112 can also enable consumers to fulfill the required quantity of products in the shopping cart from other consumers in the area of vicinity, as an alternate to placing order for a vendor. In cases of consumers having constraints in placing orders with vendors for certain products on the shopping cart, the consumers can alternatively procure the products by identifying such products in the shopping cart for inclusion in the Needs list using the input unit 206 on the electronic device 102. The products added to the Needs list is stored on the server 108.

[0086] The consumer connect engine 112 can access this Needs list and allow the products on the list to be viewed by other consumers with their location falling within the area of vicinity of the procuring consumer. Consumers within the area of vicinity of the procuring consumer can view the Needs list and offer to fulfill such products from their inventory list on the consumer connect engine 112. The procuring consumer, if located within the vicinity of such offering consumers, can accept the offer on the consumer connect engine 112 and the product is received into the procuring consumer’s inventory list on successfully completing the transaction. The consumer connect engine 112 makes the procuring consumer’s Needs list visible to the other consumers to offer and transact, when both the procuring consumer and the offering consumers fall within each other’s area of vicinity.

[0087] The consumer connect engine 112 identifies the location of all the consumers using the location tracking system in their respective electronic device 102 which may include but not be limited to global positioning system (GPS), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and the like. Further, the location tracking system uses this location of the consumers to identify as the location of their respective storage spaces. The server 108 stores this location for all consumers respectively. The engine 112 can track the radius of vicinity as maintained by the consumers using the input unit 206 on their respective electronic device 102 and the server 108 can similarly store this radius of vicinity for all consumers. Therefore, the area falling within the radius of the vicinity with the location as the center defines the area of vicinity for the consumer. The consumer connect engine 112 searches for consumers with their location falling within the area of vicinity of the procuring consumer. The consumer connect engine 112 next filters out the consumers not having the procuring consumer’s location within their area of vicinity. All such consumers gain visibility to the Needs list of the procuring consumer on the consumer connect engine and can offer to fulfill such products.

[0088] For instance, in FIG. 3c, consumer A can mark products on the shopping cart to be added to the Needs list. This list is visible to other consumers E and G as both consumers E and G fall within the area of vicinity of consumer A and consumer A falls within the area of vicinity of consumers E and G. Thus, consumers E and G can view the products on the Needs list required to be procured by consumer A, while consumers B, C, D and F cannot view the products. Consumers E and G can now offer the products on the consumer A’s Needs list in parts or in full. Consumer A after accepting the desired offers confirms to the offering consumers who can fulfill the required product in parts or in full. On marking the transaction as complete by either the procuring or the offering consumer, the server 108 moves the product from the inventory list of the offering consumer to the inventory list of the procuring consumer. Simultaneously, the server 108 removes this product from the Needs list of the procuring consumer. [0089] The server 108 can maintain a travel route for all products on the shopping cart with a preferred vendor. The travel route is displayed on a map and allows the consumers to view the shortest route to visit the locations of the preferred vendors of the products on the shopping cart. The travel route displayed is the shortest path to travel from the consumer location to the locations of the preferred vendors of the products and return to origin.

[0090] The server 108 can track the orders placed by the consumers for procuring the products on the shopping cart. The orders can be created manually, in addition to converting shopping cart into an order, by the consumer using the input unit 206 on the electronic device 102 and are stored on the server 108. The products on the order will remain in the open status until they are received by the consumer. On receiving the ordered products into stock and placing them in the designated storage spaces, the products will be updated on the order with received status. Simultaneously, the received products and their attributes will be added to the consumer’s inventory list along with the storage space information. The products received into the inventory list may also be mapped into the virtual inventory map based on this storage space information.

[0091] FIG. 4a is an example diagram depicting the visual representation of the storage spaces for easy view to the users, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The consumer can create a visual representation of the storage spaces for the products available in the inventory list. Examples of these storage spaces can include house, office, stores, supermarket, grocery store, convenience stores, other places. Storage spaces may further have storage spaces within them. Examples of such storage spaces within a storage space may include the kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms within a house; and cabinets, shelves, refrigerator, countertops, dry place, wet place, within the kitchen. [0092] The system can identify these storage spaces attributed to the products in the inventory list. Every such storage space is identified with a hierarchy level from 1 to 3. Level 1 storage spaces are the main storage spaces within which the products are physically kept, or they can have storage spaces within them identified with the hierarchy level 2. Similarly, the level 2 storage spaces can have products physically kept within them or they can further have the next level storage spaces within them identified with the hierarchy level 3. Every such storage space in the hierarchy of storage spaces can be identified on this visual representation.

[0093] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the system creates as many rectangles on the virtual inventory map as there are level 1 storage spaces identified from the inventory list such that each rectangle is represented and labelled with the names of the level 1 storage spaces. The system similarly creates as many rectangles as there are level 2 storage spaces; the rectangles representing the level 2 storage spaces are created within the rectangles representing the level 1 storage spaces as per the parent storage space defined for them. This continues with the level 3 storage spaces.

[0094] Every time a new storage space is referred to a product in the inventory list, a respective representation is created in the visual representation of the storage spaces by the system according to the hierarchy level and the parent storage space defined for the new storage space.

[0095] With the visual representation of the storage spaces created all products that have a storage space identified on the inventory list show up listed on the respective storage space on the visual representation. The consumer can now view the products by the storage spaces on the visual representation of the storage spaces, herein referred to as the virtual inventory map. [0096] FIG. 4b is an example diagram of this virtual inventory map depicting the visual representation of the products placed in storage spaces and services used for such products, for easy monitoring by the users.

[0097] Also, this virtual inventory map allows the consumer to add products to a storage space. Accordingly, the product is added along with the storage space information on to the inventory list.

[0098] FIG. 5 is an example diagram illustrating the process of managing products in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 5, managing products in the supply chain include addition of products to the inventory list 220, monitoring and tracking the status of products on the inventory list 222, tracking of the products in the storage spaces 224, tracking expiry dates of products in inventory list and generating expiry notification 226, addition of products to the shopping cart 228, proposing preferred vendor and offer price for products in the shopping cart 230, placing orders for products in the shopping cart 232 and tracking of products in orders until received into inventory list 234.

[0099] As illustrated in FIG. 5, managing products in the supply chain is initiated with addition of products to the inventory list 220. The consumer can perform the addition of products to the inventory list by entering the product details manually or by using the barcode reader or by scanning the invoice for the product details. Therefore, server 108 keeps track of products and their details added to the inventory list by any of these means.

[00100] As illustrated in FIG. 5, monitoring, and tracking the products in inventory list 222 can be performed by the server 108. By adding products to the inventory list and updating all subsequent transactions of such products, the server 108 can track the available product quantity and its value in the inventory list. Therefore, the server 108 provides the status of any product in the inventory list from any location.

[00101] As illustrated in FIG. 5, tracking products in storage spaces 224 can be performed by the server 108 from any location. The server 108 allows the consumer to update the storage space information of the products in the inventory list as they are received and transacted, which may also be represented visually on the virtual inventory map for easy access to the consumer. The consumer may access this storage space information to physically locate products on the inventory list with ease until the availability of that product and from any location.

[00102] As illustrated in FIG. 5, tracking the expiry dates of products in inventory list, and generating the expiry notification for the consumers 226 can be performed by the server 108. Thus, the server 108 can track the products in inventory list and the expiry date of such products based on the inputs from the consumers and accordingly generate expiry notifications for the consumers ahead of the expiry date. The server 108 sends these notifications on the products that are soon to expire to the consumers. Further, the server 108 maintains the quantity of products that are transacted, like consumed, returned, and expired, for historical references.

[00103] As illustrated in FIG. 5, addition of products to the shopping cart 228 can be performed by the server 108, in addition to manual entry by the consumer. Based on the historical transactions of the products by the consumer, the server assesses the demand and creates the shopping cart for the products along with the assessed demand as the required quantity for the consumer.

[00104] As illustrated in FIG. 5, proposing vendors for products in the shopping cart 230 can be performed by the server 108 based on recent transactions for such products by other consumers in the vicinity. The server can propose vendor for the products on the shopping cart by searching for recently placed orders for the product by other consumers in its area of vicinity. On identifying the order with the lowest purchase price, the sever 108 identifies the vendor on this order as the preferred vendor and the purchase price on this order as the offer price for the product on the shopping cart.

[00105] Thus, the products to be refilled in the inventory are added to the shopping cart of the consumer along with the required quantity, preferred vendor and offer price. Alternatively, the server can allow the vendor to offer catalogue of products to consumers for purchase and the consumers can select products from this Product Catalogue to add to the shopping cart.

[00106] As illustrated in FIG. 5, such products on the shopping cart can be selected by the consumer at a suitable time to place orders with the vendors for purchasing the products 232.

[00107] As illustrated in FIG. 5, tracking of products in these orders placed with the vendors to fulfill until they are received into the inventory list 234 can be performed by the server 108. The customer on placing the orders for products in the shopping cart, can update the status of the products in the order until received into the inventory list.

[00108] FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram illustrating various units of a managing system to efficiently utilize and reduce wastage of products in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. As depicted in FIG. 6, the managing system 300 may include a consumer connect module 310, a vendor connect module 302, a virtual inventory map generating module 306, a travel route analyzing module 304 and a vendor proposal generating module 308. The managing system 300 may be in, but not limited to, the electronic device 102, the server 108, communication network 106, any computing device and so on. [00109] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the managing system 300 can be integrated into a device such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a phablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, a laptop, a phone, an internet server, a communication network, an application server and so on. The managing system 300 may have access to databases (not shown) for storing, updating, removing, fetching information based on queries received from the user. In addition, the system 300 may further connect to at least one of a cloud, a dedicated user interaction device cloud, a server and so on using at least one communication network for accessing information for the queries received from the user. Examples of the communication network can be, but not limited to, the internet, a wired network (a Local Area Network (LAN), Ethernet and so on), a wireless network (a Wi-Fi network, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth, Zigbee and so on) and so on.

[00110] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the consumer connect module 310 can be configured to connect the consumer with other consumers based on their location. The consumer connect module 310 allows the interested consumers to avail the products offered on the Give-Away list by an offering consumer for any emergency fulfillment of those products into the interested consumers’ inventory list. The interested consumers may connect with the offering consumer in their vicinity to avail the offered products and transact the same after an agreement between the interested consumer and the offering consumer. This consumer connect module makes the Give- Away list of the offering consumers visible to other consumers if their location falls within each other’s vicinity defined by an area around their location.

[00111] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the consumer connect module 310 can also be configured to connect the consumer with other consumers based on their location allowing the offering consumers to offer any of the products listed on the Needs list of a procuring consumer for emergency fulfillment of those products into the procuring consumers’ inventory list. The offering consumers may connect with the procuring consumer in their vicinity to offer products on the procuring consumer’s Needs list and transact the same after an agreement between the offering consumer and the procuring consumer. This consumer connect module makes the Needs list of the procuring consumers visible to other consumers if their location falls within each other’s vicinity defined by an area around their location.

[00112] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the vendor connect module 302 can be configured to connect the consumers with vendors based on their location. The vendor connect module 302 allows the consumers to access the details of the offered products on the vendor’s Product Catalogue and place order for products selected from this catalogue. On delivery of the ordered products by the vendor and receipt by the consumer, the products are added into the inventory list of the consumer. This vendor connect module makes the vendors and their Product Catalogue visible to consumers if their location falls within the vicinity of the vendors defined by an area around their location.

[00113] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the virtual inventory map generating module 306 may be configured to generate the visual representation of the inventory list. The virtual inventory map includes visually representing the storage spaces for easy view to the consumers and listing the products in these storage spaces so they can be easily accessed and monitored on this visual representation. Also, the virtual inventory map allows the consumer to add products as they are received on the respective visual representation of the storage spaces. Accordingly, the products are added along with the storage space information on to the inventory list.

[00114] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the travel route analyzing module 304 may be configured to generate the travel route information and display on a map for products with preferred vendor available on the shopping cart. The travel route information allows the consumers to view the shortest route to travel to the location of the preferred vendors. The travel route displayed is the shortest path to travel from the location of the consumer to the locations of the preferred vendors to procure the products selected on the shopping cart and return back to the location of the consumer. The travel route can be displayed on the map for easy navigation by the consumer.

[00115] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the vendor proposal generating module 308 can be configured to propose preferred vendors for the products on the consumer’s shopping cart based on the recent orders placed for the same product by other consumers in the area of vicinity of the consumer. The vendor proposal generating module 308 does this by tracking the orders placed by other consumers and referencing these for products present in the shopping cart of a consumer.

[00116] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for managing products to efficiently utilize them and reduce their wastage in the supply chain, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

[00117] At step 1002, the method includes, receiving, by a processor (210), at least one input from at least one consumer and at least one vendor from at least one electronic device.

[00118] At step 1004, the method includes, providing, by a consumer connect engine (112), at least one service from a plurality of services to at least one consumer based on the received at least one input from at least one consumer, wherein the plurality of services includes identifying the location of at least one consumer, connecting with at least one consumer, offering at least one product, and availing at least one product by at least one consumer. [00119] At step 1006, the method includes, providing, by a vendor connect engine (114), at least one service from a plurality of services to at least one consumer based on the received at least one input from at least one vendor, wherein the plurality of services includes identifying the location of at least one vendor and at least one consumer, connecting at least one vendor and at least one consumer, offering at least one product to at least one consumer and at least one consumer availing at least one product from at least one vendor.

[00120] At step 1008, the method includes, generating, by the processor (210), a virtual inventory map depicting the visual representation of at least one storage space and listing at least one product in at least one storage space based on the availability of at least one product in an inventory list of at least one consumer.

[00121] The various actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like in the method and the flow diagram 1000 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like may be omitted, added, modified, skipped, or the like without departing from the scope of the invention.

[00122] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.