 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.
Case Study : TBSA
Tiffin Box Suppliers Association

Executive Committee
How do they do it…? (5 members)

• Organizational
structure Teams of 20-25 headed by a
group leader
• Operations

• War against Time (10.30 –

1.00) Individual Dabbawalla
workload = 30 tiffins
• The Code
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

13 MEMBERS
GENERAL SECRETARY

TREASURER

DIRECTORS(19)

MUKADAM

MEMBERS(5000)
 OUR BELIEF
WORK IS WORSHIP
• Tiffin Basket’s
weight:
75-80 kg
 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.
 LOGISTICS
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:
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?
http://www.mydabbawala.com/