A I S

B A H
U M L
M AWA
B B
D A

Group Member
1 Ajay 09BS00 0124
2 Hardeep 09BS00 0832
  3 Piyush 09BS00 1587
  4 Aviral 09BS00 0497
5 Anup 09BS00 0363
6 Rohit 09BS00 1940
7 Abhijeet 09BS00 0031
Introduction
 The word “Dabbawalah” or “Tifinwalah”
stands for one who carries lunch-boxes.

 Mr. Mahadeo Havaji Bachhe developed

the lunch-box delivery services.

 They have been operating since 1890s.

 1954 @ organized themselves with the
formation of Nutan Mumbai Tiffin-Box
Suppliers’ Charity Trust.

 Deliver more than 2,00,000 tiffins per day.

 Turnover exceeds more than ` 50 Cr.

 1998 @ “Forbes Global Magazine” ranks

its operational excellence at a six sigma level.
Exec
u t i on
Execution
9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
 This Time Period is utilized to

collect dabbas from different

places around the Andheri station.

 Dabbas are collected from different sources like

homes, messes, hotels & brought to Andheri
Railway station.

 Now these collected Dabbas are sorted

according to the destinations.
 Journey in Local Train..
10:34 AM to 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.
Unloading & Sorting At Destination Station
11:20 AM – 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
11:20 AM to 01 :15 PM
 Dabba time for dabbawalas i.e. Lunch time

01:15 PM to 02:00 PM

 Collection process where the dabbawalas have to

pick up the Empty Tiffins from the offices where
they had delivered almost an hour ago.
02:00 PM to 02:30 PM
 The group members meet for the segregation as per
the destination suburb.

2:48 PM to 3:30 PM

 The Return journey by train where the group finally

meets up after the day’s routine of dispatching and
collecting from various destination offices.
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM

 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.
 Cost Of Operation
 Cost of operation of the distribution network is amazingly
low.
 Monthly charge for the customer is around Rs. 300 per
lunch box.
 Despite this the total revenue generated is around Rs.
360 million.
 Movement of lunch boxes from homes to nearest station
is through bicycle, hand-pulled wooden cart or
directly they carry hand held bags.
CODING OF LUNCH BOX

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)
 Highest Level Of Customer Satisfaction
 Deliver food on time even during inclement weathers.
 They are always on time without wearing watches.
 They don't try to impress or bother customer with unsolicited offer.
( uniformity is maintained in services to all customers).
 They are highly disciplined.
 Customer is not the Raja but Maharaja
 November ,2003 @ Prince Charles came to India on he was told to meet
Dabbawala at church gate station so that delivery to the client is not
affected.
 Virgin group chairman, Richard Branson travelled with Dabbawala
and delivered dabba to his own employ.
Rules And Policies Which DABBAWALAH
Strictly Abide By……..
 Theft or a loss of tiffin box calls
for a compensation from the
DABBAWALLA.
 All disputes are handled by the
association.
 No Dabbawalla is allowed to
undercut his colleague.
 The whole union takes a one
weak break every year in the
month of March.
 Each Dabbawalla has to
manage his own expenses.
 Discipline Calls For…….
 No alcohol during business hours.

 Wearing Gandhi Caps mandatory

during business activity.

Carrying their Identity Cards.

 Minimum Technology…….Why?
 Workforce barely literate

 No need of tracking the boxes.

 Local Trains the best and most

economical mode of transport.

 A simple color coding system

doubles as an ID system for

the destination and recipient.

 Adapting the Technology…..Great Move
 MyDabbawalas.com is developing a software
application.
 Their point of contact is
sales@MyDabbawalas.com.
 Order through SMS
 T IC S
OG I S
SE L
V ER
R E
Expansion To Other Cities
 Efficient Transport system

 Operational costs of transport

 Lack of volumes
 Challenges
 The second generation
 Growth of fast food centers
 Change in Life Styles Pattern.
 Lunch coupons offered by organizations.
 Localized Tiffin Service.
 More and more two income families
 Working women class.

Future
 Health Sensitive Segment
 People know the pain
 Learning's…
 “The belief that technology is indispensable to solve
complex problems was shattered”

 Reverse logistics @ in soft drinks.

 concept of multi-level coding

 customer ahead of everything else.(Example)

 Discipline and Trust

Thank You