FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to e-commerce and more particularly, to systems and methods for providing online order processing and management of products or services.

BACKGROUND

The following description of related art is intended to provide background information pertaining to the field of the present disclosure. This section may include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section be used only to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure, and therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

E-business or e-commerce has become a popular medium of online sale and purchase as it provides great convenience to both vendors and customers. However, the management of online orders placed by multiple customers to multiple vendors involves complex and time- consuming processes at the vendors/suppliers' end. The existing systems of processing and managing online orders of the customers possess several limitations, and thus fail to effectively meet the rapidly rising demands of the customers. One of the limitations of these existing systems is the lack of a provision where multiple vendors and customers can have a single window to enjoy a seamless management and processing of the online orders. For instance, while using the e-commerce websites and applications for online shopping, the customers may require to visit different websites or platforms for shopping in different categories such as booking movie tickets, a doctor's appointment, buying groceries, electronic items etc. With the existing payment systems of e-commerce, the customers are required to pay at different sites, as a single point/site of payment for various categories is not available.

Another limitation of the existing e-commerce payment systems is lack of single transaction for paying for multiple products or services. For example, in an event where any customer purchases three products from three different vendors, then that customer is required to feed in all the details and credentials regarding the payment three times. Due to multiple transactions, the online shopping becomes time consuming, less secured, and frustrating process for the customers.

Further, the existing systems lack providing a direct portal or interface between a customer and a vendor, for example, a direct chat interface for the vendors and the customer. Also, certain online sites sell vendor's products to customers without vendor's knowledge. This illegal act of selling products may further create a problem for online site owners as well as vendors and customers.

Hence, in light of the drawbacks which are aforementioned and inherent in the existing art, there is a need to facilitate processing and management of online orders being placed to multiple vendors. Further, there is a need for a system and method to provide a secure, time- efficient, online order processing system and method that enables single-point interface for processing orders placed to multiple vendors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This section is provided to introduce certain objects and aspects of the present invention in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify the key features or the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In view of the above shortcomings of the existing systems, as discussed in the background section, it is an object of the invention is to eliminate or at least substantially reduce the limitations of the prior art systems by providing a system and a method for providing management of online orders placed to multiple vendors by a customer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved online management system for processing in a secured manner the orders by a customer to multiple vendors via a single interface or portal.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for facilitating the customers to buy unavailable products from alternate vendors.

In view of the above-mentioned objects, the invention provides a system for providing management of at least one online order placed to multiple vendors by at least one customer. In one embodiment of the present invention, the system comprises a server configured to receive the at least one online order placed to the multiple vendors by the at least one customer. The server analyzes the received at least one online order, to identify at least one item that is unavailable with each of the multiple vendors. Thereafter, the server confirms with any alternate vendor if the identified unavailable item is available with the alternate vendor for sale. If the unavailable item is found available with the alternate vendor, then a request is sent to the alternate vendor to complete the at least one online order.

In one embodiment herein, a method is disclosed for providing management of at least one online order placed to multiple vendors by at least one customer. The method comprises the steps of , receiving on a server, the at least one online order placed to the multiple vendors by the at least one customer; analyzing the received at least one online order to identify at least one unavailable item; confirming whether or not the at least one unavailable item is available with at least one alternate vendor for sale; and sending a request to the alternate vendor to complete the at least one online order in an event of the at least one unavailable item is available with the at least one alternate vendor.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this invention, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosed charger casing assembly in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Also, the embodiments shown in the figures are not to be construed as limiting the invention, but are illustrated herein to highlight the features and advantages of the invention.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system for providing management of online orders placed to multiple vendors by at least one customer, in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the process of facilitating at least one customer for shopping from multiple vendors through a single online platform in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the method for providing management of at least one online order placed to multiple vendors by at least one customer, in accordance with one of the embodiments of the present invention.

It may be evident to skilled artisans that mechanical components in the figures are only illustrative, for simplicity and clarity, and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the mechanical components in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other components to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that the disclosed embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features. Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system for providing management of online orders placed to multiple vendors by at least one customer, in accordance with the present invention. The system comprises a server [102], at least one vendor device [104], and at least one customer device [106]. The server [102], the vendor device [104] and the customer device [106] are capable of communicating with each other across a communication network such as the Internet. The server [102], the vendor device [104] and the customer device [106] send and receive communication or perform data transaction for the purpose of processing and management of online orders placed to multiple vendors by at least one customer.

In various embodiments of the present invention, each of the vendor device [104] and the customer device [106] is an electronic communication device comprising a processing unit, a data storage unit, and a display unit (not shown). The data storage unit may store data pertaining to the processing of online order management. For example, information such as name, image, price, description, quantity of the various items including products and services available with the multiple vendors for sale, data pertaining to the single order placed to multiple vendors by one or more customers, authentication or authorization details of a plurality of vendors registered to the server [102], transaction data of payment being processed for the online orders, data regarding various modes of payment using the available payment gateways, etc. The storage unit may include various forms of media including a computer readable/writeable non-volatile storage medium for storing computer instructions or computer program to be executed by the processing unit. The computer program may include program instructions pertaining to e-commerce and management of online purchase orders. The electronic devices [104], [106] may also include various means and components for managing data and information exchange between the electronic devices [104], [106]. For instance, the electronic devices [104], [106] may be equipped with instant messaging platforms to enable the users to exchange messages relating to online purchase of one or more items and stock management of the online store. Further, each of the at least one customer device [106] and the at least one vendor device [104] includes at least one of a mobile, a smart phone, a tablet, a phablet, a laptop, smart TV, a desktop or any other smart electronic devices. The at least one vendor device [104] and the at least one customer device [106], on its respective display screen, receives various information from the server [102]. At least one customer may select products or services for purchase, by using a single online portal or interface provided by the server [102], and subsequently place the order on the single portal to buy all the selected items including products or services or both, via the at least one customer device [106].

Further, the server [102] is a centralized server that provides a single platform i.e. an online interface for multiple vendors and customers. The customers while buying multiple products from multiple vendors may require to access one single interface configured by the server [102]. The server [102] is configured to register a plurality of vendor devices [104] to authenticate or authorize the vendors to access the online interface for uploading the details of products for sale. The server [102] may therefore store authentication details and information details of the products to be purchased using the online platform, wherein the details of the products may include but not limit to, price of the products, quantity of product currently available, description of the products, etc. In one embodiment of the present invention at least one database may be maintained by the server [102] to store and update information pertaining to management of online orders placed to the multiple vendors by the at least one customer.

The server [102] is further configured to receive the at least one online order placed to the multiple vendors by the at least one customer and analyze the received order to identify at least one item that is unavailable with the vendor. The server [102] confirms whether or not the at least one unavailable item is available with at least one alternate vendor for sale. If any item from the received order is not available with one or more of the multiple vendors, then the server [102] sends a request to at least one alternate vendor to complete the pending order. The category of unavailable item i.e. product or services, is first checked to group or combine the unavailable items. Thereafter, a request is sent to alternate vendors providing the product or services of the same category or type. For example, requests for groceries items unavailable with a grocer shop may be sent to an alternate grocer shop and not to any other shop or vendor for example vendors of travel services. The alternate vendor accordingly processes the pending order of the at least one customer to complete the order. The present invention encompasses at least one customer device [106] that may be used for placing the at least one online order. Further, the invention encompasses a single portal for registering each of the at least one vendor device [104] for facilitating respective vendor of the multiple vendors to send and receive data pertaining to the at least one online order.

Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the process of facilitating at least one customer for shopping from multiple vendors through a single online platform in accordance with the present invention. The method involves at least the following steps.

At step 202, the customers view preloaded products and services information details using the online platform of the server [102]. At least one customer selects multiple products to purchase from multiple vendors by using the single portal provided by the server [102]. The multiple products include for example, groceries from grocery vendor/s, medicines from chemist shops/vendor/s, movie ticket booking from another service provider (vendor) etc.

At step 204, the user/ customer via the customer device [106], proceeds to the provision of 'check-out' from the shopping portal as provided by the present invention. The check-out process is executed by the server [102] once the customer has selected the desired products/services being displayed on the portal. The check-out action of customers provides an indication to the server [102], the customer's intention to buy the selected products or services.

At step 206, the server [102] identifies the multiple vendors or shops which may accept the customers' order and deliver the required product or services. The checkout process of the customers' order is therefore facilitated by the server [102] by involving multiple vendors or shops. In one embodiment of the present invention, the server [102] may send one or more requests to respective vendors and seek their acknowledgement regarding completion process to be carried out for the orders placed. The vendors may send acceptance of the order to the server [102] and accordingly deliver one or more products or services based on the availability of said products and services with the identified vendors. The vendors may also ignore the server's request or send a denial notification to the server [102] in the event when it is not possible to provide the required products or the services to the customers.

At step 208, a payment mode is selected for each of the vendor/shop by the customer based on the available payment options available with the selected vendors or shops. The payment mode includes but is not limited to online payment, cash on delivery, wallet systems, coupons, etc that facilitate the vendors to receive payment from the customers. The present invention encompasses a feature of facilitating the customers with various payment options that may be used by the customer in order to buy the products/services from the multiple vendors.

At step 210, a total amount to be paid by the online platform/system is generated, wherein the total amount is displayed in distributed sections indicating the amount against each individual shop/vendor. Thus, the payment is split between the corresponding vendors based on the billed items.

At step 212, the server [102] directs the customer to the single point payment interface, thereby enabling the customer to pay the amount to the single interface provided by the server [102] wherein the server [102] receives the payment amount from the customers for their orders and subsequently pay back the respective payment shares to the respective vendors. The server [102] executes the tasks of making payment to the vendors individually, through various payment gateways. Thus, the payment received by the server [102] from the customers is divided between the respective vendors who participates in the completion of the orders placed by the customers. The customers need not make payment to multiple vendors for the multiple products/services. Instead, the single portal as provided by the server [102] facilitates the customer to make a single payment at one place while purchasing the multiple products or services.

In an exemplary embodiment, a customer may be provided with a provision to select a third party customer, wherein selected third party customer is required to make the payments to the server [102] on behalf of the customer. Thus, this single-point interface results in fast and quick payment for the products as a customer uses the single portal provided by the server [102] for payment and has to pay only once to the server [102]. Moreover, payment to a single portal eradicates repetitive adding/including information such as shipping address, credit card number, e-mail address, etc. individually for each vendor, enabling time efficient payment. The present invention further encompasses the feature of providing biometric authentication for customers. For example, a customer may user finger print authentication to proceed with secured payment and related transactions.

Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the method for providing management of at least one online order placed to multiple vendors by at least one customer, in accordance with one of the embodiments of the present invention.

At step 302, customers place an online order to multiple vendors by using the single interface provided by the server [102]. The server [102] receives at least one online order placed to the multiple vendors by at least one customer. At step 304, the server [102] analyzes the received at least one online order to identify at least one unavailable item. Hence, the server [102] performs a checking on the received order by comparing the quantity of the ordered products with the quantity of the products available with the multiple vendors/shops selected by the user. The present invention thus encompasses a feature of dividing the ordered products into two categories based on availability and non- availability of said products.

At step 306, if one or more unavailable products/items are identified by the server [102], then the identified unavailable products are combined into a single order. In other words, the multiple unavailable products belonging to a similar category of products or services, can be combined to make a single order of that category. The combined order is accordingly processed as a single order.

At step 308, at least one alternate vendor is selected by the server [102] and a request is sent to the alternate vendor to confirm on the availability of the required item. The alternate vendors may be identified by searching the location of nearby vendors registered with the server [102]. The server [102] therefore sends requests to the alternate vendors based on the geographic location of the vendors and the customers, to cater to the single order of the unavailable products.

Step 310 includes checking whether or not said unavailable products are still unavailable with the alternate vendors. In the event when the single order is still not available, then the method leads to step 318, else if the single order turns out to be available with the alternate vendors, the method leads to step 312.

At step 312, the server [102] facilitates the alternate vendors to process the single order of the at least one customer. A step 314, the server [102] checks whether or not all the products, ordered by the customer, are available with the vendors. In the event of the entire order being available with one or more vendors, step 316 is repeated. On the contrary, if the order is still not available, step 308 is repeated.

Step 316 and step 318 includes completion of the order wherein step 316 includes completion of the entire order of the at least one customer in accordance with the customer requirements, i.e. providing all the ordered items to the customer as required. Step 318 includes completion of the order with one or more products being still unavailable for delivery by the multiple vendors or the alternate vendors, because there may not be any vendor available in all the possible geographic locations in vicinity to the customer's area/location, to take the order of the required product or services may not be available with the vendors.

The process of identifying alternate vendors and sending the requests to alternate vendors for unavailable products may therefore be stopped after a certain predefined time period. The time period for checking and identifying the alternate vendors may depend upon various factors including category of a product/service, locality or geographical location of the customers and vendors etc. The time period may be predefined by the server [102].

Further, the present invention encompasses a direct video/audio/text chat option between the customer and vendor. This interaction allows user to communicate his queries to the vendor and thus reduces security risk. Further, vendors can also promote their products in a more efficient manner by using the online portal provided by the server [102]. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a training interface may also be provided for the customers and/or vendors to make them comfortable with the interface by allowing them to use the system without any money being transacted. Thus, the present invention not only enables a safe, transparent and reliable portal for multiple vendors but also enhances online shopping by providing various features such as direct chat between vendors and customers, refund and return options etc.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments and examples thereof, other embodiments and equivalents are possible. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with functional and procedural details, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in terms of the procedural steps within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms. Thus, various modifications are possible of the presently disclosed system and process without deviating from the intended scope and spirit of the present invention. A person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the customization of payment modes discussed hereinabove is exemplary and are not limiting in any manner.