Presented By,

JAFAR IKBAL LASKJAR (12MBAK41)SARFROSH ANWAR (12MBAK05)PARVEZ ALAM KHAN (12MBAK29)

A dabbawala ( one who carries the box ), 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. 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. (Mahadev Havaji Bachchey, Ananth Mandra Reddy started with 100 men). 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.

About Mumbai Dabbawalas:Mumbai is a very densely populated city of millions with huge flows of traffic. Because of this, lengthy commutes to workplaces are common, with many workers travelling by train. Instead of going home for lunch or paying for a meal in a café, many office workers have a cooked meal sent either from their home, or sometimes from a caterer who essentially cooks and delivers the meal in lunch boxes and then have the empty lunch boxes collected and re-sent the same day. This is usually done for a monthly fee, for about the equivalent of Rs 175-250.A collecting dabbawala, usually on bicycle, collects dabbas either from a worker's home or from the dabba makers. As many of the carriers are illiterate, the dabbas have some sort of distinguishing mark on them, such as a colour or group of symbols. In the next slide we can see how the dabbawalas reach their destination or we can see the mode of transport.

Leading without Suits and TiesTalks on Best Practices at IIMs, IITs,

companies Regularly sought by print media and electronic media

Common queriesHow do they recruit?Working of incentive system with “equal pay

for all”?Do they know their clients?Robustness of distribution channel?Dealing with growth?Competitors?World is changing! Not dabbawalas?

  Some facts about them○(Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association)○History : Started in 1880○Charitable trust : Registered in 1956○Avg. Literacy Rate : 8 th 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.

How do they do it…?○Organizational structure Executive Committee (5 members) Teams of 20-25headed by a group leader Individual Dabbawalla workload = 30 tiffins○Operations○War against Time (10.30 – 1.00)○The Code○ (13)DIRECTORS (19) MEMBERS (5000) MUKADAM○ PRESIDENT & GENERAL SECRETARY NUTAN 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.

StructureThree tier structure:

Executive committee Mukadams Dabbawalas

Role of Groups (a profit centre with 8 mukadams)

Culture similarity of the staffDistinct local entity of dabbawalas

Known for reliability and work ethicHelped by commuters

Coding System

Distribution NetworkBaton relay systemTeam workHub and spoke arrangementNo historical, theoretical legacy in the designNo use of computer technologyCoding system

Decentralized at the group levelWorkday schedule 30-35 deliveries (manageable)Sorting, loading and unloading at peak rush hours4 handlings of a dabba in a day- coding essential

Distribution NetworkFrom 1 dabbawala to anotherClients name is not even existingEasy coding scheme as the level of literacy is

not very high

Operating EnvironmentCompetitors: Fast Food chains, restaurants

and road-side vendors, Udipi chain etc. Competition is different:

NO MANUFACTURING, ONLY DISTRIBUTION

Success FactorsLow cost delivery

Rs. 150 -200Delivery reliability

Entrepreneurs, not employeesNo strikesFlat structureReferrals from friends and

relativesNo dilution of service culture

DecentralizationPerceived equality

Effort different, same remuneration

Suburban Railway NetworkFoodline of the city

FutureKey concerns

Shrinking customer base and loyalty Loss of textile mill workers in 80s and 90s Each group authorized to target new customers

(school children etc.)

Lifestyle changes Not a major damage for the business

Workforce management Next generations do not seem to be greatly interested Not many incentives for good workers Not many disincentives wither (no firing)

Some Achievements

○ World record in best time management.○ Name in “GUINESS BOOK of World Records”.○ Registered with Ripley's “ believe it or not”.○ Documentaries made by BBC ,UTV, MTV, and ZEE TV○ Dabbawalla services are popular with the Indian IT developer community in Silicon Valley ,California, USA

A typical Dabbawala Lunch

Roti, Sabzi & Bhaji etc. (Healthy, Clean & Fresh)