Dabbawallas – A case studyPrepared By:Group 1Amit Yadav5AAshish Khola12AKhushit Mehta 21APurvi Munot33ARohit Nadgouda37ASameeksha Gupta 42A

NMTBSANutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association

History : Started in 1880 Charitable trust : Registered in 1956 Avg. Literacy Rate : 8th Grade Schooling Total area coverage : 60 Kms Employee Strength : 5000+ Number of Tiffin's : 2,00,000 Tiffin Boxes i.e 4,00,000 transactions every

day. Time taken : 3 hrs

Error Rate : 1 in 16 million transactionsSix Sigma performance (99.999999)Technological Backup : Nil.Standard price for all (Weight, Distance, Space)Rs. 40 Cr. Turnover“No strike” record as each one a share holder

WORKING OF NMTBSA

• Zero fuel • Zero investment• Zero modern technology • Zero Disputes• 99.99994% performance• 100 % Customer Satisfaction

Initial Coding System used colored threads to mark 7 IslandsNow using color markers

E :: Code for Dabbawala Street at residential stationVLP :: Residential Station Ville Parle3 :: Code for Destination station e.g. Church gate9 :: Code for Dabbawala at Destination.Ex :: Express towers ( Building name)12 :: Floor no. in the building.

CODING SYSTEM

Pick up Dabba from

Residence/Caterer and bring it

to Andheri Station.

*Journey in Local Train*

Unloading and Sorting at

Destination Station.

Delivery to respective customers.

Collection of Empty Dabba.

Sorting at Destinations

station.

Returning Dabba to

Residence/Caterer.

9:30 A.M- 10:30 A.M 10:34- 11:20 A.M 11:20- 12:30 P:M

12:30 - 1:00 P.M 1:15- 2:30 P.M2:48- 3:30P:M

3:30- 4:40 P.M

THE JOURNEY

BDO NETWORK DIAGRAM

Collection PointsP1 P2

P3…….Pn

Delivery at Destinations

D1 D2 D3….Dn

Hub-Hub Transfer Sorting

Hub-Hub Transfer Sorting

Office to Hom

e

Home to Offic

e

GOING ONLINE

MyDabbawalas.com

MyDabbawalas.com developing a software application through which the

people of Mumbai can order Dabba service online through internet

Sales@MyDabbawalas.com

Customers can email at Sales@MyDabbawalas.com with their

details pertaining to Name, Pickup and Drop address and the time to be picked

up from the origin location

ANALYSIS OF KEY TO SUCCESS

COMPETITIVENESS

Uninterrupted Legacy

Powerful Brand

Formidable Entry Barrier

Large Scale Operation

1 INFRASTRUCTURE

Wide Reach and Coverage

Subsidized Transportation

Sub-urban Rail Network

Linear Topography

2 PROCESS ENABLERS

Flexible Train Schedule

Cooperative Customer

Liberal Delivery Time Specifications7CORE VALUES

Fix One Week Holiday in a Year

Dignity of Labour

Providing Food

Discipline

3 NEED FOR SERVICE

Early Departure from Home

Overstretched Public Transport System

Long Commuting Distances

Preference to Home food

4 SYSTEM

Centralized Planning

Localized Monitoring

Equal Compensation

Codification (Origin and Destination)

5 RESOURCES

Apprenticeship

Same Ethnic Group

Members6

SWOT ANALYSIS

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

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

Delivery reliabilityDecentralisation of decision and operationsPerceived equality and status of partner to each employeeSuburban Railway network utilised effectively – cheap, fast, convenient

and suitableSimplistic systemPractice to perfectionVolunteering and substitution of employeesClear, end – to – end control in operationsUniqueness of idea and concept to create a special niche and monopoly in

serviceDiscipline, punctuality, and loyalty of employees

Salient Characteristics for success - CSFs

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 MNC’s like Motorola, GE etc…

Dabbawalas got ISO 9001- 2000 for Excellence in service

SIX SIGMA

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.

CASE STUDY made by : • Harvard Business School• XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX• Also, Included in a subject in Graduate School of Journalism University of

California, Berkeley

Invitations from : • CII for conference held in Bangalore, IIML, IIMA, CII Cochin, CII Delhi, Dr. Reddy’s

Lab Foundation Hyderabad, SCMHRD Pune, SCMHRD Nasik, Sadahana – Pune, Rotary Club – Bangalore, NIQR at Chennai

ACHIEVEMENTS

World record in Best Time management

Features 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

ACHIEVEMENTS

LETTER FROM PRINCE CHARLES

THANK YOU