SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF

DABBAWALLAS

Presented by:
Aakash Patidar
Abhijeet Dodiya
Gautam Bhagat
Prakhar Gupta
Rahul Valsan
Varun Gupta
ABSTRACT
The service which has surprised one and all by its efficient work and management skill,
many things come into the mind when one thinks about dabbawalas their supply chain
management their distribution network structure, the team work of the system, the unique
coding system followed by to identify and deliver the Tiffin boxes and finally the mutual
trust and goodwill that they have created for themselves in the minds of the people of
Mumbai with their unique service its one of the oldest service system in Mumbai which
has survived the hardship of time.

The association of the dabbawalas in Mumbai is over a hundred years old. It began as a
Tiffin carrier service for particular community who worked in downtown Mumbai.
Today, this organization caters to over 2, 00,000 customers everyday, using 60 - 80
kilometers of the cities transport service with the help of over 5000 individual
dabbawalas aiming to serve the customer with full dedication and hard work. This system
basically involves service of delivering Tiffin’s from the customer’s residence in the
morning transporting it by train to the destination station and then dispatching it to the
respective offices. The system involved follows a strict pattern of operation they are time
specific and are standard everyday. The entire system is dependent upon the coding,
which is an ingenious creation which is easy to decipher by the semi illiterate dabbawalas.

The system is recognized worldwide for their accurate operation and it has received six
sigma certification from Forbes and ISO 9001: 2000 certification for its error free
operation. The dabbawalas are famous case study in all the reputed B- school for their
efficient management skill and they have the pleasure of respect from great personalities
like Prince Charles, Princess Diana and Richard Branson who visited them on their trip to
India. They are appreciated for their hard work and efficient management skill they
posses

Dabbawalas are following efficient SBU ( strategic business management ) concept

before it was even introduced , they have monopoly in their type of business with very
tough competition by the fast food and canteens which can be explained by applying
poters five forces.

A SWOT analysis is necessary to study the various aspects of the business and gain more
knowledge about its present and future. Being the traditional Indian management system,
it is bound by simplicity and efficiency. It is technology free and does not involve any
paper work, modern communication techniques.
It is an esteemed organization and is an aspiration to companies and other organization
across the globe. In absence of HR policies and guidance Dabbawalas are highly
motivated and there is zero attrition rates. They give us enormous knowledge about many
management concepts. India take proud of such an organization and give it due
recognition and support.
INTRODUCTION
Dabbawalla is a person in India, most commonly found in the city of Mumbai, who is
employed in a unique service industry whose primary business is collecting the freshly
cooked food in lunch boxes from the residences of the office workers, delivering it to their
respective workplaces and returning the empty boxes back to the customer’s residence by
using various modes of transport.
They are also used by meal suppliers in Mumbai, who pay them to ferry lunchboxes with
ready-cooked meals from central kitchens to customers and back.[1] The 2013 Bollywood
film The Lunchbox is based on the dabbawala service.
HISTORY
Mumbai – the city of dreams and ambitions has been on the fast track since the British
had developed the basic infrastructure of roads, railway and buildings. When the British
ruled India, the prime business centers were fort and billard pier areas. These were the
places that have housed banks government departments, insurance houses, shipping
companies and other industrial head office, soon residential colonies moved further away
from the fort area and hence a lot of office goers started finding it difficult to go home for
their lunch from work carrying lunch boxes was also not a preferred routine .
In 1890 , a parsi banker working in ballard pier employed a young man, from Pune
district, to bring his lunch everyday. More and more people joined the group through
referrals and soon it was taken as a serious business. As the business grew the tiffincarrying
entrepreneur had to hire more helping hands from his village. This led to the
unleashing of an army that even today in the 21st century serves millions of mumbites
with same spirit and competence.

Today, 5000 dabbawalas across Mumbai coordinate with each other for picking up and
delivering the tiffins for over 2,00,000 Mumbaites everyday in 3 hour period, through 60
kms of public transport and in very rare case a tiffin may miss being on its owners lunch
table at the lunch hour.

The organization is really a marvel because it achieves a high level of efficiency and
performance without any documentation, without computers and without an highly
educated workforce. Yet, they are the ultimate practitioner of logistics management. They
have been practicing hub and spoke system, just in time tactics, no inventory policy and
supply chain management principles even before these terms were even coined.

The organization work on a ‘work is worship’ philosophy, which is the traditional Indian
practice because of which they are known as fuel suppliers and if the local train is the
lifeline of the city then the dabbawalas are the food line.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE & WORKING STYLE

The Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Charity Trust had a very flat structure with only three levels,
the Governing Council, the Mukadams and the Dabbawalas. From the Governing Council, a
president, a vice president, a general secretary, a treasure & directors were elected. The Governing
Council held meetings once a month which were attended by the Mukadams (Supervisers) and
Dabbawalas. At these meetings, the Dabbawalas discussed their problems and explored possible
solutions. The problems could be with the police, Municipal Corporation, customers, etc. They also
adjudicated disputes among Dabbawalas using their own system. The Trust collected Rs.15 from
each Dabbawala every month to maintain a welfare fund.
Figure 1: Organisational Structure of Dabbawallas

FINDINGS & RESEARCH

SUPPLY CHAIN
A collecting Jdabbawalla, 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. The Jabbawalla then
takes them to a designated sorting place, where he and other collecting dabbawalas sort the
lunch boxes into groups. The grouped boxes are put in the coaches of trains, with markings
to identify the destination of the box (usually there is a designated car for the boxes). The
markings include the railway station to unload the boxes and the destination building
delivery address. At each station, boxes are handed over to a local Jabbawalla, who delivers
them. The empty boxes are collected after lunch or the next day and sent back to the
respective houses.

Figure 2: Supply Chain of Dabbawallas

CODING
Lunch boxes are usually marked in several ways:
(1) abbreviations for collection points,
(2) colour code for starting station,
(3) number for destination station and
(4) markings for handling dabbawala at destination, building and floor.
The dabbawalas have started to embrace technology, and now allow for delivery requests
through SMS. A colour-coding system identifies the destination and recipient.
For example:
VLP: Vile Parle (suburb in Mumbai),
9EX12: Code for Dabbawalas at Destination,
EX: Express Towers (building name),
12: Floor no. E: Code for Dabbawala at residential station,
3: Code for destination Station eg. Churchgate Station (Nariman Point).

UNINTERRUPTED SERVICES
The service is almost always uninterrupted, even on the days of severe weather such as
monsoons. The local dabbawalas and population know each other well and often form
bonds of trust. Dabbawalas are generally well accustomed to the local areas they cater to,
and use shortcuts and other low profile routes to deliver their goods on time. Since 1890,
when the dabbawalas formally came into existence, none of them had ever gone on strike
until 2011 when the members decided to head towards Azad Maidan to support Anna
Hazare in his campaign against corruption.

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Each dabbawala, regardless of role, is paid about eight thousand rupees per month. One month’s
Diwali bonus from customers. The New York Times reported in 2007 that the 125-year-old
dabbawala industry continues to grow at a rate of 5–10% per year. Zero % fuel, zero % investment,
zero % modern technology, zero % disputes, 99.9999% performance & 100 % customer satisfaction.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
 1) 100% Achievements in-
 Teamwork, discipline, honesty
 Time management
 Ownership & Pride in work
 Customer satisfaction
 Low operational cost, process consistency
 Service delivery of six sigma
 Service commitment (No strike since inception)
 Satisfaction of team member (due to low attrition)
 Full proof delivery model through colour coding
 Financial independence.
 Just in time approach
2) 0 % dependence upon-
 Fuel in last mile service delivery
 Technology related process complexities
 Investment
 Documentation

WEAKNESS

1) Highly dependent on Mumbai local trains

2) Limited fund flow of the association limits the governing body to implement welfare
schemes
3) Limited Access to Education, limit diversification of members to other business jobs

OPPORTUNITY

1) Tie up with caterers to serve variety of meals i.e. diet food, Chinese/continental food, food
for fasting
2) Opportunity on the expansion of services on the routes of Mumbai metro & BRTS
3) Generating revenue by promotion of other brands
4) Expanding networks in other cities
5) Booking of service through internet & SMS (Recently started – needs to be popularized)

THREAT

1) Threats from fast food joints & small restaurants

2) Flexi – timing/work from home culture
3) Food courts at mall/mega structures
4) Catering services offering tiffin services
5) Paper food vouchers & smart cards i.e. food plus by HDFC
6) COMPETITORS: The major competitors of Mumbai dabbawala are Magic-o-meal, Food plus
by HDFC, Fast Food chains, restaurants, road-side vendors, Udipi chain, food box etc.
Competition is different here no manufacturing, only distribution.

But, Home food – The USP of Dabbawala nullifies the threat.

AWARDS AND FELICITATION

1) Documentaries made by BBC ,UTV, MTV, ZEE TV, AAJ TAK, TV TODAY, SAHARA SAMAY, STAR
TV, CNBC TV 18, CNN, SONY TV, TV TOKYO, NDTV.
2) Included in a subject in Graduate School of Journalism University of California, Berkeley.
3) Invited for the Terra Madre World meeting of food communities in Italy between October
20-23, 2004.
4) Invited to marriage of Hon. Price Charles of England on 9, April 2005.
5) Invitation from CII for conference held in Bangalore, IIML, IIMA, CII Cochin, CII Delhi, Dr.
Reddy’s Lab., Foundation Hyderabad, SCMHRD Pune, SCMHRD Nasik, Sadahana –Poone.
6) Name in “GUINESS BOOK of World Records”.
7) Part of the “Community of Cooked Food distributors from Mumbai”.
8) Radio – German Radio Network, Radio Mirchi, Radio Mid-day, FM –Gold, BBC Radio.
9) Registered with Ripley's “believe it or not”.
10) Shri.Varkari Prabhodhan Mahasmati Dindi (palkhi) sohala–4th march –2001.
11) World record in best time management.

CONCLUSION
In this highly technologically advanced time ‘dabbawalas’ are working absolutely without
technology. They have an excellent supply chain, despite the fact that they don’t even know
what it means. Most of the people working with them are semi-literate but still they read
the tiffin code correctly and deliver it. Their attitude of competitive collaboration is equally
unusual, particularly in India. Their excellent sense of deep commitment, sense of work
ethics and unparalleled time management system are best in place.