Question 1

What is Gradient?

Accepted Answer

Gradient is a B2B café supply chain platform that connects independent cafés with the suppliers, roasters, and brands they buy from. Cafés source from every supplier in one cart, and suppliers run orders, stock, and dispatch from a single dashboard.

Question 2

How does a café supply platform like Gradient work?

Accepted Answer

A café supply platform puts ordering, fulfilment, invoicing, and inventory in one place. On Gradient, cafés browse a combined catalogue, place one order across multiple suppliers, and track delivery, while suppliers receive, pack, and dispatch those orders from their own portal.

Question 3

Who is Gradient built for?

Accepted Answer

Gradient is built for independent café owners, coffee roasters and food or packaging suppliers, and brands running product trials with cafés. Each side gets a dedicated portal designed around how it actually orders, fulfils, or sells.

Question 4

Is Gradient available across India?

Accepted Answer

Gradient is built in Delhi NCR and is expanding across India. It is designed for the way Indian cafés and suppliers trade, with INR invoicing, local delivery routing, and region-aware supplier matching.

Question 5

Do I need to switch suppliers to start using Gradient?

Accepted Answer

No. Gradient connects you with the suppliers you already order from and makes it easy to add new ones, without changing how you pay or receive stock. You keep your existing relationships and gain a single place to manage them.

Question 6

How can a café order supplies from multiple suppliers in one place?

Accepted Answer

On Gradient, a café browses every connected supplier catalogue in one cart, places a single consolidated order, and tracks fulfilment and delivery ETAs from the café portal, instead of calling or messaging each supplier separately.

Question 7

How do cafés reduce stockouts and avoid running out of ingredients?

Accepted Answer

Gradient surfaces stock risk before you order and flags items likely to run low based on your ordering pattern. Smart reorder suggests quantities, and if a supplier is out of stock it recommends comparable suppliers so a stockout never blocks a delivery day.

Question 8

Can I manage ordering for multiple café outlets from one account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Multi-location ordering lets you split one order across outlets or manage each location separately from the same login, so a café group can run procurement for every branch in one view.

Question 9

How much does it cost a café to join Gradient?

Accepted Answer

Cafés can start free. Gradient prices around your order volume and number of outlets rather than a fixed subscription, so small independents and multi-outlet groups both get a plan that fits.

Question 10

How do suppliers receive and fulfil café orders on Gradient?

Accepted Answer

Orders land in the supplier portal with route and dispatch details, so your team can pick, pack, and mark fulfilment status in one place. Suppliers manage catalogue, stock, and delivery without maintaining separate spreadsheets or chat threads per café.

Question 11

Can suppliers forecast demand before it happens?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Gradient Insights surfaces reorder signals and trial intent across your connected café network, so suppliers can plan stock and dispatch ahead of demand instead of reacting to it.

Question 12

How do brands run product trials with cafés on Gradient?

Accepted Answer

Brands use the Gradient brand portal to place products with verified cafés, track trial adoption, and see which cafés convert trials into repeat orders, turning café sampling into measurable, trackable demand.

Question 13

What makes Gradient different from ordering directly or over WhatsApp?

Accepted Answer

Direct calls and WhatsApp leave no structured record of catalogue, stock, invoices, or delivery status. Gradient replaces that with one system where cafés, suppliers, and brands share live order data, so nothing is lost between a message and a delivery.

Question 14

How does pricing work on Gradient?

Accepted Answer

Gradient builds a plan around how you actually trade. Tell the team your order volume and number of outlets, and they put together pricing that fits, rather than forcing every café or supplier onto the same fixed tier.

Question 15

How is billing and invoicing handled?

Accepted Answer

Every order on Gradient generates an invoice automatically, with totals reconciled between café and supplier so there is no manual matching, and payments and records stay consistent on both sides.

Question 16

Is my café and supplier data secure on Gradient?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Café, supplier, and brand data is walled off by design so no side sees another’s private information. Data is handled and stored per our privacy policy, and privacy separation is built into the platform rather than added on.

Frequently asked questions.