It is 8 A.M. in kalyan, 70 km north in

Mumbai, & Urmila pandit is preparing lunch for her daughter, Yesha studying in college.

Yesha stays at college hostel pursuing

studies, but 4 hours later would be tucking into fresh home-cooked food prepared lovingly by her mother.

The same situation occurs in case of many officers, many working persons living in Mumbai.

They get fresh home-cooked food regularly & they do not have to depend on hotel, canteen’s food.

This can occur in Mumbai only,the

reason behind it is

“ MUMBAI DABBAWALLAS ”

The Wonder of Mumbai Dabbawallas Inspiration of Management

supported by http://www.mydabbawala.com/

• A Dabbawala (one who carries the box, see Etymology), sometimes spelled dabbawalla or dabbawallah , is a person in the Indian city of Mumbai whose job is to carry and deliver freshly made food from home in lunch boxes to office workers.

• Tiffin is an old-fashioned English word for a light lunch, and sometimes for the box it is carried in. Dabbawalas are sometimes called tiffin-wallas.

For the efficiency of their supply chain it has been claimed that this virtually achieves a Six Sigma performance rating, (i.e. 99.9999% of deliveries are made without error.)

Though the work sounds simple, it is

actually a highly specialized trade that

is over a century old and which has

become integral to Mumbai's culture.

(Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association)

• History : Started in 1880• Charitable trust : Registered in 1956• Avg. Literacy Rate : 8th Grade Schooling• Total area coverage : 60 Kms • Employee Strength : 5000• Number of Tiffin's : 2,00,000 Tiffin

Boxes i.e 4,00,000 transactions every day.• Time taken : 3 hrs

• Error Rate : 1 in 16 million transactions• Six Sigma performance (99.999999)• Technological Backup : Nil.• Cost of service - Rs. 200/month ($

4.00/month)• Standard price for all (Weight, Distance,

Space)• Rs. 50 Cr. Turnover approx. [200,000*200=400,000,00 p.m. i.e 48 crore

p.a.]• “No strike” record as each one a share holder • Earnings -5000 to 6000 p.m.

Zero % fuel Zero % investment

Zero % modern technology Zero % Disputes

99.9999% performance 100 % Customer Satisfaction

DISCIPLINE :

• No Alcohol Drinking during business hours• Wearing White Cap during business hours• Carry Identity Cards WOMEN:• Mrs. Bhikhubai of Borivali(East)• Mrs. Anandibai of Andheri(East)

LATEST MARKETING STRATEGY:

Marketing message in the “dabba”

DABBAWALLAS IN TRAIN COMPARTMENT

In Marathi and Hindi "dabba" means a box

(usually a cylindrical aluminium container),

while "wala" means someone in a trade

involving the object mentioned in the preceding

term, e.g. punkhawala with "pankha" which

means a fan and "wala“ mean the person who

owns the pankha (The one with the fan).

• The dabbawala originated when India was under British rule : many Indian people who worked in British companies disliked the British food served by the companies, so a service was set up to bring lunch to them in their workplace straight from their home.

Nowadays, Indian businessmen are the main customers for the dabbawalas, and the service often includes cooking as well as delivery.

How do they do it…?

• Organizational structure

Executive Committee(5 members)

Teams of 20-25 headed by a group leader

Individual Dabbawallaworkload = 30 tiffins

• Operations

• War against Time (10.30 – 1.00)

• The Code

Case Study : TBSATiffin Box Suppliers Association

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The service is uninterrupted even on the

days of extreme weather, such as Mumbai's

characteristic monsoons.

The local dabbawalas at the receiving and the

sending ends are known to the customers

personally , so that there is no question of lack of

trust.

PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENT

GENERAL SECRETARY

TREASURER

DIRECTORS(19)

MEMBERS(5000)

MUKADAM

13 MEMBERS

OUR BELIEFWORK IS WORSHIP

• Tiffin Basket’s weight:

75-80 kg

PRESIDENT & GENERAL SECRETARYNUTAN MUMBAI TIFFIN BOX SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION

FINANCIAL DATA OF A GROUP

1st group –

Rs 125000 Total earnings - 20 People Rs 35000 Maintenance cost Tiffin luggage basket pass – Rs 180 per person. Maintenance of cycles – Rs 300 – 2 cycles per month.

Maintenance of wooden boxes – Rs 100 per person .

T.C , police robbery of Tiffin Rs 500 yearly. Organizational fee Rs 15 per head. Puja held per station Rs 50 per head.

LOGISTICSLOGISTICS

Logistics is happening 24 hrs a day,7 days a week and 52 weeks a year.

Logistical competency is achieved by coordinating the following:

Network Design Information Transportation Inventory Warehousing

•CodingVLP : Vile Parle (Suburb in Mumbai)

9E12 : Code for Dabbawallas at Destination E : Express Towers(Bldg. Name)

12 : Floor No.

E : Code for Dabbawallas at Residential station.

3 : Code for Destination station (E.g.. Nariman Point)

• Let us now look at an example of these codes on the tiffins to better understand the system and what it all denotes:

MR. RAGHUNATH MEDGE

• 10:34-11:20 am• This time period is actually the journey

time. The dabbawalas load the wooden crates filled with tiffins onto the luggage or goods compartment in the train. Generally, they choose to occupy the last compartment of the train.

• 11:20 – 12:30 pm

• At this stage, the unloading takes place at the destination station

• Re-arrangement of tiffins takes place as per the destination area and destination building

• In particular areas with high density of customers, a special crate is dedicated to the area. This crate carries 150 tiffins and is driven by 3-4 dabbawalas!

• 1:15 – 2:00 pm

• Here on begins the collection process where the dabbawalas have to pick up the tiffins from the offices where they had delivered almost an hour ago.

RETURN JOURNEY:

• 2:00 – 2:30 pm

• The group members meet for the segregation as per the destination suburb.

• 3:30 – 4:00 pm

• This is the stage where the final sorting and dispatch takes place. The group meets up at origin station and they finally sort out the tiffins as per the origin area

THE ROYAL VISIT:

• Recently, the dabbawala’s had royal company at Churchgate station. The Prince of Wales himself had visited them when he came down to Mumbai.

• He took keen interest in their way of functioning, expressed surprise at their efficiency and was struck with awe when he was told that they didn’t employ any technology.

• The prince was presented a small memento, accompanied with a garland, a Gandhi topi and a trophy by the dabbawalas.

RICHARD BRANSON CHAIRMAN VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS MUMBAI

• Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Atlantic Airways, meeting the Mumbai's famed 'Dabbawalas' at their nodal point, the Churchgate Railway Station in South Mumbai, on April 1, 2005.

Order Dabbawalas Products and services Online

My Dabbawalas.com developing a software  application  through which the people of Mumbai can order Dabba service online through internet. The order will be booked online and Dabba will be picked up from your home and will be delivered to office in time

Please wait  , the software will be soon available. Meanwhile you may send us E-Mail us at Sales@MyDabbawala.Com with your details ( name, home address , office address , home phone , office phone , mobile number , whether you want dabba on Saturday) and He will contact you to start the service.

Order through SMS

Although the service remains essentially

low-tech, with the barefoot delivery boys as the prime movers, the

dabbawalas have started to embrace technology,

and now allow booking for delivery

through SMS..

The success of the system depends on teamwork and time management that would be the envy of a modern manager. Such is the dedication and commitment of the barely literate and barefoot delivery boys (there are only a few delivery women) who form links in The extensive delivery chain, that there is no system of documentation at all. A simple colour coding system doubles as an ID system for the destination and recipient. There are no elaborate layers of management either — just three layers.

Some Achievements

• World record in best time management.

• Name in “GUINESS BOOK of World Records”.

• Registered with Ripley's “ believe it or not”.

QUESTIONS - ANSWERS

1. What are the key sustainable advatages for the business model followed by the dabbawallas of mumbai, which has lasted for 117 years?

Contd….

2. what are the key issues that would determine the future of dabbawallas of mumbai?

Contd….

3. What are the key drivers for the consistent performance of dabbawallas of mumbai?

Contd….

4. What are the strategic opinions for dabbawallas of mumbai, to expand the scale and scope of their operations?

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