CASE ON MUMBAI DABAWALA

Dabbawalas, tiffinwala, tiffinwalla, etc. We are a 118 years old organization as on 2008, started in year 1890, what we do is simple; we collect tiffin boxes (called Dabbas) from the residence of the working people and deliver it to their officer during the lunch timings. Every day approximately 5000 Dabbawalas deliver home made food to about 200,000 ( 2 lakhs) customers in the nook and corner of Mumbai , India. Although this job seems simple but what is amazing is that most of Dabbawalas are illiterate and yet they are able to deliver food to people at the right time and to the right person using a simple colour coding system without using any modern technology or computer systems. No wonder that's the reason why Dabbawalas have been given six sigma ranking by Forbes group and also ISO 9001:2000 for their accuracy and customer satisfaction. Dabbawala rose to international fame after the historic visit of English Prince Charles followed by Sir Richard Branson - the chairman of Virgin group, England. Most of Dabbawalas are from Varkari community of Maratha clan. Today Dabbawala have become a symbol of honesty, hard work, time management, accuracy and a case study of six sigma and supply chain management. No wonder the business schools , Universities , corporate and MBA institutes from all across the the world , invite Dabbawala to give lecture on their Management and try to be benefited by their rich experience , however the Dabbawalas still continue to do what they are most famous for - delivering tiffin boxes. Home made food is best for health and because health is wealth. Outside junk foods may take your life and makes you sick. Home made food keeps your doctors bill down and there are fewer absences from office due to poor health. In fact bad food is the reason no. 1 of all the diseases. 2 Home made food is cheaper. When you use Dabbawala's services to deliver your home cooked food to your office you are actually saving your hard earned pennies. The delivery charges of Rs 250 - 300 per month is very nominal and reasonable. Its simple maths. 3 Do you not love your mother or wife and like to eat food made by her? 4 Even if there is no one at home to cook food for you, Dabbawalas can deliver you good quality home like lunch through many restaurants. We have quality restaurants all over Mumbai where cheap and best quality food is prepared which is delivered at your office or home through Dabbawala Channel. 5 Safety - The Local train of Mumbai are always very crowed and it is very tough to take even small luggage during peak times. There are instances where the person's hand got hurt or broken and ones belongings destroyed while traveling during peak time. People leave from their home at about 8 - 9 PM which is peak time and its not possible to carry Tiffin during this time and Even the food is not ready by this time. By using our services you are getting hot food safely deliver in your office. 6 Dabbawalas give reliable services and their performance and accuracy match six sigma standards. You must be sure that your home cooked food reaches in time. 7 We , the DabbaWalas never go on strike. 8 By takeing our services you are proving direct employment to 5000+ Dabbawalas and many of their dependent families. You are actually helping us. 9 Dabbawalas are an icon in their own sense and famous world over for their efficiency and by taking our services you are being part of India's image building. 10 Dabbawalas are from the remote villages of Maharashtra and mostly uneducated. They regularly organize bhajan and kirtans and spread the essence of Marathi culture , good will and one ness of India. 1

Being a part of DabbaWalas , you are actually nurturing Marathi culture. A dabbawala (one who carries the box), sometimes spelled dabbawalla , tiffinwalla , tiffinwalla 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. 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. The dabbawala originated when a person named Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started the lunch delivery service with about 100 men. Nowadays, Indian businessmen are the main customers for the dabbawalas, and the service often includes cooking as well as delivery. Economic analysis: Everyone who works within this system is treated as an equal. Regardless of a dabbawala's function, everyone gets paid about two to four thousand rupees per month (around 25-50 British pounds or 40-80 US dollars). More than 175,000 or 200,000 lunches get moved every day by an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 dabbawalas, all with an extremely small nominal fee and with utmost punctuality. According to a recent survey, there is only one mistake in every 6,000,000 deliveries. The BBC has produced a documentary on dabbawalas, and Prince Charles, during his visit to India, visited them (he had to fit in with their schedule, since their timing was too precise to permit any flexibility). Owing to the tremendous publicity, some of the dabbawalas were invited to give guest lectures in top business schools of India, which is very unusual. Most remarkably in the eyes of many Westerners, the success of the dabbawala trade has involved no Western modern high technology. The main reason for their popularity could be the Indian people's aversion to Western style fast food outlets and their love of home-made food. 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. Low-tech and lean: Dabbawala in actionAlthough the service remains essentially low-tech, with the barefoot delivery men as the prime movers, the dabbawalas have started to embrace modern information technology, and now allow booking for delivery through SMS. A web site, mydabbawala.com, has also been added to allow for on-line booking, in order to keep up with the times. An on-line poll on the web site ensures that customer feedback is given pride of place. 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 men (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 multiple elaborate layers of management either just three layers. Each dabbawala is also required to contribute a minimum capital in kind, in the shape of two bicycles, a wooden crate for the tiffins, white cotton kurta-pyjamas, and the white trademark Gandhi topi (cap). The return on capital is ensured by monthly division of the earnings of each unit. Uninterrupted services: 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. Also, they are well accustomed to the local areas they cater to, which allows them to access any destination with ease. Occasionally, people communicate between home and work by putting messages inside the boxes. However, this was usually before the accessibility of instant telecommunications. You are supposed to: 1. Read the case thoroughly 2. Summarize it 3. Create your own case note 2