Logistics & Supply Chain Management of Dabbawalas and Indian Postal Service

Prsented By- Group 9 Ty.BMS

The Wonder of Mumbai Dabbawallas Inspiration of Supply Chain Management

(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

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

: TBSA Supply ChainTiffin Box Suppliers Association

Collection of lunch boxes from residential area one by one by team members

Sorting of the boxes at the originating station by destinations

Loading of lunch boxes in set carts to the sub-urban

Train either for a hub or a final destination

Resorting of lunch boxes to the final destinations

• Wide area • Small volume• Upto 30 boxes per member• Responsibility to members

• Team work • Time bound• Code based

• Rapid operation

• Group based • Rapid operation

Activities Resources

Flow chart of Dabbawallahs operations

Transfer to final destination by using rail network• Code based • Individual group

Unloading and Re-arranging Lunch boxes based on

Final delivery location

• Code based • Individual team member

Loading on to special carts and transfer to final destination

Delivery of lunch boxes at the final destination

• Group of members

• Member based activity

Collection of empty lunch boxes and beginning of return journey

• Member based• Code based

Transfer to original location by rail network • Rapid action

Uploading at the original station and regrouping of Delivery to individual houses

• Rapid action• Code based

Final delivery of lunch boxes at the householdsindividually

End of operations

• Member

Sorting origin wise lunch boxes at the destinationStation

• Group of members

Six sigma Certified

•Just in Time Methodology- The tiffins boxes are delivered just before lunch, neither too early neither too late.

•Reliable Employees

•6 month probation period

•Dabbawalla’s know that “Error in Menace”

•99.99 % efficiency in delivering the lunch-boxes to the right people

Zero % fuel

Zero % investment

Zero % modern technology

Zero % Disputes

99.9999% performance

100 % Customer Satisfaction

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.

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.

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.

12 coach train, 4,000 commuters, 8,000 disputes, But no excuses, Duty first

TIME SHEDULED

10:34-11:20 am

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.

2:00 – 2:30 pm The group members meet for the

segregation as per the destination suburb.

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

•Coding

VLP : 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:

Order Dabbawalas Products and services Online

New Techniques

1.Online booking of orders

2.Software applications

•

• Modernised Techniques are being now introduced in recent past one among them is use of mobile phones i.e SMS service to book orders.

Letter from PRINCE CHARLES