MUMBAI

DABBAWALAS

PRACHI JAIN

MARKETING 1

Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the provision of product and service packages required by the end customers in a supply chain. 

Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.

“Design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally."

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

A DABBAWALA also spelled as dabbawalla or dabbawallah;  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 (mostly in the suburbs), delivering it to their respective workplaces and returning the

empty boxes back to the customer’s residence by using various modes of transport

DABBAWALA

It was the time when India was under the British rule.

British people who came to the colony did not like the local food.

A Parsi banker employed a person to bring home-made food to site of work.

His colleagues too liked this idea and started availing this service.

Started a lunch delivery service with about 100 men.

Registration of NMTBSA

How DABBAWALA System started

History : Started in 1890

Charitable trust : Registered in 1956

Education : 85% Illiterate – 15% Class 8 pass/fail.

Total area coverage : 60 Kms to 70 Kms ( Virar – Churchgate , Kalyan/ Panvel – CST)

Employee Strength : 5000

Mukundhams : 635

Number of Dabbas : 2,00,000 Dabbas i.e. 4,00,000 transactions every day.

Time Taken : 3 hrs

What Is Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association?

Zero % fuel

Zero % modern technology

Zero % investment

Zero % Disputes99.9999% performance

100 % Customer Satisfaction

Food is taken from home or mess and

is delivered at office.

Major Features

11% students 15% businessmen36% government sector

38% private sector employee

CUSTOMER PROFILE

NMTBSA

Executive Committee(5 members)

Teams of 20-25 headed bya group leader

Individual Dabbawala’ s workload:

Collect from home – 35 tiffins Delivery at office – 35 tiffins

Return empty tiffins to home – 35 tiffins

Dabbawalas operate in group of 25 – 30 , headed by a group leader.

In one segment there are more than one group.

A flat organization.

Decisions are taken on the spot.

Everyone is a share holder.

Even the president and other high ups also work.

Mini government meets every month to help , guide and sort difference.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

VICE PRESIDENT

GENERAL SECRETARY

TREASURER

MEMBERS ( 5000 )

MUKADAM

13 MEMBERS

DIRECTORS ( 9 )

PRESIDENT

The present President of the association is Raghunath Medge. Nowadays, the service often includes cooking of food in addition to the delivery.

CODING

VLP

A 3

RESIDENT STATION

CODE

DESTINATION PICKUP

GROUP CODE[USE OF COLOURS IN

CODES]

DESTINATION ADDRESS

CODE[ABBREVIATION OF

BUILDING]

FINAL DESTINATION[DETAIL SPECIFICATIONFLOOR/ OFFICE NAME,

PERSON]

RESIDENT STATION PICK

UP CODE[USE OF COLOURS IN

CODES]

DESTINATION STATION

CODE

R

DAILY

• This time period is utilized for collecting Dabbas from different places around Andheri.

9:30AM to 10:30AM Andheri

• This time period is actually the journey time. The Dabbawalas load the wooden crates filled with tiffin onto the luggage or goods compartment in the train.

10:34AM to 11:20AM Andheri Station

• At this stage, the unloading takes place at the destination station. Dabbas are delivered by cycle , hand card or even walk.

11:20AM to 12:30PM Church Gate Station

• Dabbawalas carry their food with them. Area wise they sit together and have their lunch.

12:30PM to 1:00PM Lunch Time

• Here on begins the collection process where the Dabbawalas have to pick up the Dabbas from the offices where they had delivered almost an hour ago.

1:15PM to 2:30PM At All Destination

Stations

• Usually, since it is more of a pleasant journey compared to the earlier part of the day, the Dabbawalas lighten up the moment with merry making, joking around and singing.

2:48PM to 3:30PM • 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 and the empty Dabba is delivered at the respective residence. The actual address of the residence is not mentioned on the Dabba – it is remembered by the Dabbawalas.

3:30PM to 4:00PM At All Origin Stations

Dabbawalas got ISO 9001: 2000 for excellence in services.

Certificate accredited by “The Joint Accreditation System Of Australia And New Zealand” – JASANZ.

The Indian consulting firm T. G. Solutions coordinated the process of getting the certificate.

Most Dabbawalas do not know what ISO stands for.

The only thing that a Dabbawala know is that – “Error is Horror”.

Dabbawalas work with great efficiency without caring for any certificates.

ISO Certification

Dabbawalas were invited to collect the six sigma certificate – they did not know what it is made of – Gold or bronze.

The certificate is lying in cupboard eating dust.

SIG SIGMA CERTIFICATION

Star TV hired the services of Dabbawalas to distribute the pamphlets of Amitabh Bacchan anchored “KBC” reaching 2 lakhs Mumbaikars in just 4 days.

Maharashtra government propagates HIV awareness though Dabbawalas channel.

Campaigns done for many companies in Mumbai.

Dabbawalas are the fastest and most economic method to reach the nook and corner of Mumbai.

This brings additional earning for Dabbawalas.

MARKETING THROUGH DABBAWALAS

Only investment is the hard work , honesty , promptness and time management.

Low cost offices.

Very cheap hand cart.

Easy to maintain cycles – Fuel is free air - (God given fuel).

Use public space for sorting.

No IT or HR department.

MINIMUM CAPITAL INVESTMENT

World’s most democratic organization?

There are 2-3 Dabbawala

groups in each segment.

Dabba collection is group- wise but transportation is shared with other

groups. Competition is

only up to collection.

Profit is shared equally within

each group after

deducting expenses.

For 116 years , Dabbawalas did not touch technology - yet got six sigma and ISO.

Today mobile phones are used to communicate – mostly incoming.

Website & SMS used to get more customers & give information.

But logistics is still manual.

DO NOT BE OVER DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY

Team work

Time management

Innovation

Customer relationship

management

6 Sigma

Logistics And Supply chain management

MANAGEMENT PRICIPLES DERIVED

STRENGTHS• High team spirit,

co-ordination, simplicity in the organization.

• Low operation cost• Customer

satisfaction• Time Management

WEAKNESSES• Lack of

education mostly illiterate

• High dependency on local trains.

OPPORTUNITIES• Expanding to other

cities• Booking of services

through SMS’s and internet.

• Wide range of Publicity

• Catering

THREATS• Many Caterers

also offer tiffin services

• Food Courts at Malls are growing rapidly

SWOT

THANKYOU