JOURNEY OF DABBAWALAS

PRESENTED BY:

A BRIEF HISTORY

The origin of the Dabbawalas' lunch delivery service dates back to the 1890s during the British raj.

Mahadeo Havaji Bacche (Mahadeo), a migrant from North Maharashtra.

Mumbai Dabbawala - carrying and delivering freshly made food from home in lunch boxes to office workers. They are called..
Shivaji Maharajs soldiers Deccan Mavle
The Annadattas The Dabbawallas

WHAT IS NMTBSA?
NMTBSA stands for
N M T B S A

-NUTAN -MUMBAI -TIFFIN -BOX -SUPPLIERS -ASSOCIATION

NMTBSAs GUIDELINES:

History Charitable trust Avg. Literacy Rate Total area coverage Employee Strength Number of Tiffin's

Time taken

: Started in 1880 : Registered in 1956 : 8th Grade Schooling : 60 Kms : 5000 : 2,00,000 Tiffin Boxes i.e 4,00,000 transactions evryday : 3 hrs

APPEARANCE:
Although the service remains essentially low-tech, with the barefoot delivery men ,as the prime movers. It is the dedication and commitment of the barely literate and barefoot delivery men (there are only a few delivery women) who form links in the extensive delivery chain.

PRESIDENT & GENERAL SECRETARY

NUTAN MUMBAI TIFFIN BOX SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION

Raghunath Medge And Mr. Gangaram Laxman Taleker

queries About Dabbawalas :

How 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?

Operational Motto : Error is horror

Principles:
Shakti aur bhakti Work is Worship Manav seva me bhagwan seva milti hai Time is money Unity is Power

DISCIPLINE (THEY FOLLOW)

NO ALCOHOL DRINKING DURING BUSINESS HOURS
WEARING WHITE CAPS DURING BUSINESS

HOURS CARRY IDENTITY CARDS..

HOW A DABBA IS DELIVERED?

The entire system depends on TEAMWORK and meticulous timing. Tiffins are Collected from homes & taken to nearest Railway Station. Then they are sorted out for area-wise distributiuon, so that a single tiffin could change hands 3 to 4 Times in the course of its daily journey.

JOURNEY OF DABBAWALA:
9:30 A.M- 10:30 A.M
Pick up Dabba from Residence/Caterer and bring it to Andheri Station.

10:34- 11:20 A.M

*Journey in Local Train*

11:20- 12:30 P:M

Unloading and Sorting at Destination Station.

2:48- 3:30P:M

1:15- 2:30 P.M

12:30 - 1:00 P.M

Delivery to respective customers.

Sorting at Destinations station.

Collection of Empty Dabba.

Returning Dabba to Residence/Caterer.

3:30- 4:40 P.M

10.34am to 11.20pm
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.

12:30pm to 1:00pm
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
Tiffins are delivered to the

respective customers.

1:15pm to 2:30 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 ago1

2:48pm to 3:30pm
The return journey by train

where the group finally meets up after the days routine of dispatching and collecting from various destination offices pleasant journey compared to the earlier part of the day, the dabbawalas lighten up the moment with merry making, joking around and singing.

Usually, since it is more of a

3:30pm to 4:40 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

Coding System:
Initial Coding System used colored threads to mark 7 Islands Then Utilized thrown away cotton waste from tailors Now using color markers: E :: Code for Dabbawala Street at residential station VLP :: Residential Station Ville Parle 3 :: Code for Destination station. E.G :: Church gate 9 :: Code for Dabbawala at Destination. Ex :: Express towers ( Building name) 12 :: Floor no. in the building.

HR Practices they follow:

Flat organization No hire and fire rule Community based Recruitment Sharing common beliefs, values, ethics Following of strict dress code Loyalty & trust is their monopoly Training provided to the new joiners Owner + Employee is the designation of each Quarterly Meetings to discuss issues

What is Six Sigma ?

Six Sigma :
Statistical Measures & Management Philosophy
Five Steps Model:

Define

Determine the Performance of a Process

Control Measure

Level of Perfection Achieved

Well defined role & Clear Structure of Task

Improve Analyze

Its a Mean to End ; Not the End Itself

Six Sigma Certification:

In 1998, Forbes Global magazine conducted a quality assurance

study on the Dabbawalas' operations Gave Rating of 99.999999 Dabbawalas made one error in six million transactions. Stood High along with MNCs like Motorola, GE etc Dabbawalas got ISO 9001- 2000 for Excellence in service

Michael Porter's Five Forces Theory at work.

These are as follows:

Threat of new entrants Current competition Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of sellers

Threat of a new substitute product or service

CONTINUED
Competition: Its difficult to replicate their supply

chain network

New entrants: Fast food joints as well as office canteens. However, since neither of these serve home food, the dabbawallas' core offering remains unchallenged Bargaining power of buyers: Delivery rates are so nominal (about Rs 300 per month) that one simply wouldn't bargain any further. Bargaining power of sellers: minimum infrastructure and practically no technology is used, hence they are not dependent on suppliers. Threat of a new substitute product or service: No substitutes to home cooked food in Indian scenario, hence threat to the dabbawalla service is not an issue at least in the foreseeable future.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths:

Simplicity in organization with Innovative service Coordination, team spirit, & time management Low operation cost Customer satisfaction Low Attrition Rate

Weaknesses:

High dependability on local trains Funds for the association Limited Access to Education

CONTINUATION..
Opportunities
Wide range publicity
Operational cost is low Catering

Threats Indirect competition is being faced from caterers like

maharaja community Indirect threats from fast foods and hotels Change in timings Company transport Ticket restaurant

ACHIEVEMENTS

DOCUMENTARIES
Made by (following channels):
BBC UTV MTV ZEE TV AAJ TAK TV TODAY SAHARA SAMAY STAR TV CNBC TV 18 CNN SONY TV TV TOKYO

CONTINUED
CASE STUDY made by :
ICFAI Press Hyderabad & Bangalore Richard Ivey School of Business Canada Also, Included in a subject in Graduate School of Journalism University of California, Berkeley

Continued

Invitations from :
CII for conference held in

Bangalore, IIML, IIMA, CII Cochin, CII Delhi, Dr. Reddys Lab Foundation Hyderabad, SCMHRD Pune, SCMHRD Nasik, Sadahana Pune, Rotary Club Bangalore, NIQR at Chennai

continued:
World record in Best Time management. Name in GUINESS BOOK of World Records. Registered with Ripley's believe it or not. Invited for marriage of Hon. Prince Charles of England on 9th April, 2005 Documentary called Dabbawalas, Mumbai's unique lunch service by two Dutch filmmakers in 1998.

Why Successful ?
Decentralization Low operation cost Low Attrition Rate Minimum Capital Investment

No overdependence on Technology
Faster Decision Making Extras For Fault Tolerance Customer satisfaction --- Not Raja, But the Maharaja

Management Lessons Learnt:

Utmost Dependence on Human Capital Honesty & Integrity Discipline & Time Management Pride towards work Recruitment policies and manpower management Complete Contentment Musical Meditation Sustained success will lead to fame