The Dabbawalas of Mumbai

This is a case of a conventional Indian system of management that is today a favourite case study among management institutions for a simple reason that it doesnt use any technology and yet out performs most organizations in operational efficiency. To the extent that it received a six-sigma rating from Forbes International.

Facts:
The dabbawalas of Mumbai carry hot lunches from the homes of employees to their employment places in tiffins safely. Different modes of transportation are used depending upon the distance which is to be traveled. Each dabbawala is employed by one of the citys 800 contractors (mukaddams). The contractors and tiffin carriers belong to the Mumbai Tiffinbox Carriers Association which was registered as a trust in 1967. Indian value system places great emphasis on home-cooked meals which are served hot and Mumbais train traffic and pedestrian traffic which flow northsouth and east-west respectively are the primary reasons for their success. Most of the tiffin carriers and contractors come from Pune region. Trust and loyalty are the basis of recruitment. No formal training is imparted. However, for a new recruit, the other dabbawala or contractor shows him the route for first two days and explains the coding/identification system. All training is done orally. A dabbawala is paid a fixed salary of Rs. 1,000 a month by his contractor and no other benefits are provided to them. The bond among tiffin carriers is strong. If one worker doesnt turn up, another will cover up for him.

Trust is the essence of the business and a tiffin carrier sticks to his contractor.

Hierarchy:

Mandal Committee (11 members)

800 supervisors or managers called contractors

5,000 workers called carriers

There exists a flat hierarchy of authority. Only 3 levels within the organization are present. This implies a wide span of control but here one manager manages a group of 410 employees. The contractors run the business through two committees: the Mandal Committee and Trust Committee. Mandal Committee members are 11 elected contractors for 5 years who govern the Trust but its primary responsibilities seem to be dealing with broking conflicts among contractors and addressing potential contractors. The Trust Committee also comprises 11 elected contractors for 5 years which is responsible for operations in Pune. In addition, two contractors serve as staff to the Trust. Their job includes resolving problems arising in day to day operations, enrolling new customers and arranging and calling meetings of the Trust.

CHARACTERISTICS WHICH LED TO SUCCESS OF DABBAWALAS

The organization works on a Work Is Worship philosophy, which is the traditional Indian practice. Trust and loyalty are the two pillars on which this business is based. 1) Traditional Value System: There is a great emphasis on home-cooked meals served hot. Many people in different companies prefer home made food rather than outside food. This is mainly because tiffin carrier brings the security of an inexpensive, clean, tasty and often warm home meal. 2) Transportation Convenience: In Mumbai, the train traffic moves north-south direction and the pedestrian traffic flows east-west direction. Thus, tiffins are physically carried for short distances from homes to train stations by one set of tiffin carriers, carried by train for longer distances between stations, and finally carried by other tiffin carriers from the train stations to the designated workplaces. 3) Honesty: The dabbawalas do not entertain any sort of dishonesty in the ranks. A tiffin carrier typically sticks to his contractor. 4) Simplicity in Organization: The organizational structure is very simple. The work appears to involve output standardization because workers are given explicit work goals. 5) Coordination: The groups work very smoothly and effectively with each other. Not only is the coordination within the group perfect but also the coordination among different groups is really remarkable. A group responsible for a particular area in Andheri will effectively coordinate with other groups on the way to Churchgate. The effectiveness of coordination can best be seen during the sorting process. There are no disputes or

problems whatsoever among different groups and the functioning is smooth and problem free. 6) Team Spirit: All the dabbawalas mostly operate in groups that are actually functioning as a team does in any sport. They have a daily routing to complete which is like a mission to accomplish within a stipulated time. External factors such as weather elements, crowd, disputes with outsiders etc., are all neglected when it comes to performing the duty first. Because of the time constraint, every dabbawala knows that he must work effectively in the team in order to complete the job successfully. Another reason for the great team spirit is that most dabbawalas are from the same region and community and therefore, its like a huge family that is working together to earn a livelihood. Cooperation is the key element here. 7) Low Operation Cost: The costs involved in carrying out the daily routines are really low if you compare it to any logistical company. The main expenditure is on their traveling only which too, is by the cheapest and fastest mode of transport in the city. Besides trains, they operate on bicycles or on foot which is also very cheap. Bicycles require negligible expenses because they are easy to maintain. The information system is neither computerized nor does it involve paper work. It is simply done by marking codes on the top of the tiffins with coloured pencils or paint or chalk. The money matters are handled individually by groups and therefore the incomes and common expenses are borne by the groups itself. It is difficult to find any other organization that operates on such a large scale and yet is so cost efficient. 8) Conventional Working Methods: The working methodology of the dabbawalas is totally conventional. It consists of non-technology based techniques and yet, is very efficient. There is absolutely no computerization involved in maintaining client accounts, in the systematic networking of tiffin carriage or in maintaining records of the number of dabbawalas. If there are major disputes, they have to resolve during the monthly meetings. There is no paper work involved as well. All the transport logistics, client accounts, tiffin allocations etc are handled without any book keeping or by maintaining records. All the functions are discussed within the group initially and the same is carried

out regularly. There is no change in their working methods at all. All principles and methods have been pre-defined and have been kept simple enough to avoid any need of automation or complexity. Considering all these factors, it is laudable that the dabbawalas still manage all deliveries so efficiently. 9) Customer Satisfaction: The clients of the dabbawalas are an extremely satisfied. The policy being simple as it is, the client is quite satisfied because there are no disputes and claim issues. In other cases such as holidays, the dabbawala would usually intimate the group members about his being unable to attend duties on a particular day and hence, the back-up member would carry out the duty on his behalf. Therefore, because of the absence of the usual dabbawala, the client is not totally deprived of the services, as there is a back up in most cases.

Possible THREATS to the Dabbawala System:

1) High dependability on Local Trains: The entire dabbawala network, barring a few who function independently on bicycles, is totally dependent on the functioning of the railways. They work only if the train works. Therefore, during the bandh or railway strikes, the dabbawalas call off their duties. Of course, the customers do understand the problem and the case of the dabbawalas taking an off due to non-functioning of railways is again, a rare case. The local trains of Mumbai do not stop in case of heavy monsoons or even during riots. The trains are hence, very efficient in their daily functionality. This enables the dabbawalas to perform their operations regularly enough. But the underlined fact is that they function only when the trains function and therefore their over dependence on the railway network is an undeniable weakness. 2) Industry shutdown: A major chunk of the clientele can be lost with the closure of a particular industry or company in Mumbai. These constitute a huge labour force and thus, their closure could be a severe blow to the dabbawalas. 3) Subsidized lunch: Many of the schools and companies are now offering subsidized lunch in their in house canteens. Hence, the students and employees dont have to carry tiffins anymore. 4) Catering Services: These services pose the biggest threat to the dabbawalas. Private organizations provide cheap food delivered hot and fresh. Usually, they charge anything between Rs.20 per tiffin to Rs.40 per tiffin. This price is inclusive of food and delivery. Predatory pricing one might say but it works brilliantly with people who are willing to compromise with home cooked.

A Typical Journey:

Step 1: The Dabbawalas collect all the tiffins from different residential areas from 10:00 am. Each dabbawala covers around about 38 apartments spread over 2-mile radius (one residential area). Step 2: At approximately 10:30 am, the tiffin is transferred to tiffin carrier 2, who has been collecting all the tiffins with particular characters. As tiffin carrier 2 pedals off to a nearby station with his collected tiffins, tiffin carrier 1 continues to go from apartment to apartment to get lunch boxes which will soon be collected by other carriers. Step 3: At the railway stations, hundreds of tiffins have been deposited by different collectors. From them, tiffin carrier 3 quickly removes all those having same characters. He loads his consignment on a tray which is a wooden crate 2.5 metres long. A tray with 40 tiffins weighs more than 60 kgs. Different characters on the tiffins tell the carriers at which station en route they must pass on specific tiffins to other waiting carriers. A particular character or code could specify a particular destination. For example, a yellow alphanumeric character and the red dot can signify the tiffin is heading towards Churchgate. Step 4: Tiffin carrier 4, waiting at the platform, picks out the lunch boxes marked with similar characters. The second and the third characters of the symbol indicate the exact destination. By 12:30 pm, the carrier has carried his tray to the right place i.e. outside the customers office.

Return Journey:

At 2:00 pm, the mornings delivery service tracks down the above steps in reverse, using exactly the same symbols that moved the tiffin forward previously.

Conclusion:

The mail and parcel delivery systems in the United Stated of America and other countries have an exact system of correspondence to those tiffin-carriers of Mumbai. These foreign systems are worth millions of dollars. They have high capital investments, latest technology, mature postal systems, etc yet the delivery reliability is very low. In contrast, the tiffin carrier system in India has low investment, technology and crude identification usage and low-educated man-power yet there is a great deliver reliability and higher customer satisfaction.