A Study On Workflow of Mumbai Dabbawala by Nikhil Mani

A Study on Workflow of Mumbai Dabbawala
Introduction
They are called Shivaji Maharaja’s soldiers-“Deccan Mavle” The Annadatta’s

The Dabbawallas.
A Dabbawalla (one who carries the box), sometimes spelled dabbawalla, tiffinwalla,
tiffinwalla or Dabbawalla, 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. Dabbawallas are sometimes called tiffin-wallas. For the efficiency of
their supply chain it has been claimed that this virtually achieves a six sigma
performance rating (i.e. 99.99% of delivery are made without error, he is at CMMi
6). • 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
Dabbawalla originated when India was under British rule: many Indian people who
worked in British companies disliked the British food served by the companies, so a
service was set up to bring lunch to them in their work place straight from their
homes. Nowadays Indian businesses are the main customers for the Dabbawallas,
and the service often includes cooking as a delivery.
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What is NMTBSA N -Nutan M - Mumbai T -Tiffin B -Box S -Suppliers A -

Association The origin of the Dabbawallas’ lunch delivery services dates back to the
year1890. Mahadeo Havaji Bacche, a migrant from Pune district (North
Maharashtra) started this lunch delivery service. At that time, people came from
different states and form different communities migrated to Mumbai for work. At
working place there were no canteens or fast food centers and they did not bring
their lunch from home. Besides, different communities had different food habits,
tastes and preferences which could only be satisfied by a home made meal.
Recognizing the need, Mahadeo started this lunch delivery service. In his business,
Mahadeo recruited young men from the villages neighboring Mumbai (generally
Pune district and adjoining areas), who had no formal education or technical
efficiency to get work in the city. There were 100 Dabbawallas at the
Commencement of the service and charged the client Rs. 2 per month. Gradually,
the number of Dabbawallas increased. In 1950, Dabbawallas were delivering 1,
00,000 lunches per day. After the death of Mahadeo they became organized in 1954
and formed Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers’ Charity Trust. The trust had
branch offices in different parts of the Mumbai such as Chembur, Dadar, Ghatkopar
etc.
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The word "Dabbawalla" in Marathi when literally translated means "one who carries
a box". "Dabba" means a box (usually a cylindrical tin or aluminium container),
while "wala" is a suffix, denoting a doer of the preceding word[1]. The closest
meaning of the Dabbawalla in English would be the "lunch box delivery man".
Though this profession seems to be simple, it is actually a highly specialized service
in Mumbai which is over a century old and has become integral to the cultural life of
this city.
The concept of the Dabbawalla originated when India was under British rule. Many
British people who came to the colony did not like the local food, so a service was
set up to bring lunch to these people in their workplace straight from their home.
Nowadays, although Indian business men are the main customers for the
Dabbawallas, increasingly affluent families employ them instead for lunch delivery
to their school-aged children. Even though the services provided might include
cooking, it primarily consists of only delivery either home-made or in that latter
case, food ordered from a restaurant.
Hungry kya? What would you like: pizza from the local Domino’s (30 minute
delivery) or a fresh, hot meal from home? Most managers don’t have a choice. It’s
either a packed lunch or junk food grabbed from a fast food outlet. Unless you live
in Mumbai, that is, where a small army of ‘Dabbawallas’ picks up 175,000 lunches
from homes and delivers them to harried students, managers and workers on every
working day. At your desk. 12.30 pm on the dot. Served hot, of course. And now
you can even order through the Internet. The Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers
Association (MTBSA) is a streamlined 120 year old organization with 4,500 semi-
literate members providing a quality door-to-door service to a large and loyal
customer base. How has MTBSA managed to survive through these tumultuous
years? The answer lies in a twin process that combines competitive collaboration
between team members.
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Who are the Dabawallas?
A Dabbawalla (one who carries the box), sometimes spelled dabbawalla , tiffinwalla,
tiffinwalla or Dabbawalla, 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.
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 Dabbawalla
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 Dabbawallas, and the service often includes cooking as well as delivery.
Etymology:
The word "Dabbawalla" can be translated as "box-carrier" or "lunchpail-man". In
Marathi and Hindi, "dabba" means a box (usually a cylindrical aluminium
container), while "wala" means someone in a trade involving the object mentioned in
the preceding term. Everyone who works within this system is treated as an equal.
Regardless of a Dabbawalla's function, everyone gets paid about two to four
thousand rupees per month. More than 175,000 or 200,000 lunches get moved every
day by an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 Dabbawallas, 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 New York Times reported in 2007
that the 125 year old Dabbawalla industry grows at 5-10%per year
Low tech and lean:-Dabbawalla in action Although the service remains

essentially low-tech, with the barefoot delivery men as the prime movers, the
Dabbawallas have started to embrace modern information technology, and now
allow booking for delivery through SMS. A web site, myDabbawalla.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
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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 Dabbawalla 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).
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Objectives of Study
 To examine how the Dabbawallas operate.
 To study how Dabbawallas of Mumbai perform an amazing role in procurement
and distribution of Tiffin’s to their clients from whom one can learn many critical
issues of supply chain, distribution and logistics management. How they work as
a team to achieve a common goal with a cent percent accuracy.
 To study how the business has proved the six sigma record: Dabbawallas give
reliable services and their performance and accuracy match six sigma standards,
ISO and many other certificates given to them by external agencies.
 To know how they work without any investment: These Dabbawallas are working
without any investment. Their business is just based on day to day earnings which
are distributed among the entire Dabbawallas just keeping back some money to
fund the people at the time of some emergency or for the school fees of their
children. It is just that if some person wants to be a working partner then he may
invest some amount for the welfare of all the Dabbawallas e.g. to buy bicycles, to
buy tray. Then he may earn Rs 7000 per month as a fixed salary.
 Employee Satisfaction Survey of Dabbawalas.
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Research Methodology
The research methodology adopted for this project is based on the collection of
primary data and secondary data. The attempt is to study the work flow and the
satisfaction level of the dabbawalas working with NMTBSA. The various stages
have been adopted to carry out the research drive are as follows:
 Primary data
Primary data is collected as a major source. It is collected by way of interview in
which I had met several dabbawalas at dadar station & interacted with them.
Occasionally a part of the unstructured questionnaire was used to make the
interviewee feel free to share information about their workflow and their satisfaction
levels.
 Secondary data
The study is also depended on the secondary data, such as various News papers The
Hindu Business Line, The Times of India & The Economic Times.
Internet sources:- www.myDabbawalla.com,www.scribd.com,www.images.com
www.economictimes.com, www.google.com, www.ifomydabbawalla.com and
Various journals and books.
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Review of Literature
 Mumbai’s Models of Service Excellance by Stefan Thomke HBR,

November 2012:
In July 2005, Mumbai was battered by unusually heavy monsoon rains. In just 12
hours, more than 25 inches deluged India’s business capital. That, combined with
record high tides, wreaked widespread havoc, bringing the city to a virtual
standstill. As the water rose waist-high in many areas, people found themselves
stranded at railway stations, in trains, and on roads and sidewalks.
Dabbawalas
Among them were many of Mumbai’s dabbawalas, who deliver meals prepared in
customers’ homes to their offices and then return the empty dabbas (metal
lunchboxes) the same day. Nevertheless, on the second day of the flooding, even
before the city had limped back to life, the dabbawalas were back on the job,
wading through the water. They quickly became a symbol of gritty resilience.
The 5,000 or so dabbawalas in the city have an astounding service record. Every
working day they transport more than 130,000 lunchboxes throughout Mumbai,
the world’s fourth-most-populous city. That entails conducting upwards of
260,000 transactions in six hours each day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year
(minus holidays), but mistakes are extremely rare. Amazingly, the dabbawalas—
semiliterate workers who largely manage themselves—have achieved that level
of performance at very low cost, in an ecofriendly way, without the use of any IT
system or even cell phones.
The dabbawala service is legendary for its reliability. Since it was founded, in
1890, it has endured famines, wars, monsoons, Hindu-Muslim riots, and a series
of terrorist attacks. It has attracted worldwide attention and visits by Prince
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Charles, Richard Branson, and employees of Federal Express, a company

renowned for its own mastery of logistics.
How can a poorly educated, decentralized workforce perform so beautifully in an

environment that can charitably be described as unpredictable and challenging?
The answers hold lessons not only for companies seeking to expand in emerging
markets but also for all developed-economy enterprises whose ranks are
dominated by unexceptional talent. Even firms that can afford to hire stars
typically depend on a cast of average people to support them. The dabbawalas’
success is proof that with the right system in place, ordinary workers can achieve
extraordinary results.
After hearing about the dabbawalas, I traveled to Mumbai to uncover what they
might teach us about managing a superior service organization. With the support
of Harvard Business School’s India Research Center (IRC), I reviewed the
literature on the dabbawalas, interviewed workers and supervisors in their
organization, and accompanied them during a typical delivery day. I analyzed
their operation and its inner workings.
The dabbawalas have an overall system whose basic pillars—organization,

management, process, and culture—are perfectly aligned and mutually
reinforcing. In the corporate world, it’s uncommon for managers to strive for that
kind of synergy. While most, if not all, pay attention to some of the pillars, only a
minority address all four. Culture, for example, often gets short shrift: Too few
managers seem to recognize that they should nurture their organizations as
communities—not just because they care about employees but because doing so
will maximize productivity and creativity and reduce risk. The takeaway:
Managers shouldn’t think of themselves merely as leaders or supervisors; they
also need to be architects who design and fine-tune systems that enable
employees to perform at optimal levels.
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 A Study & Logistics & Supply Chain Management of Dabbawala

in Mumbai by Pawan.G.Agrawal in 2001:
Dabbawalas of Mumbai are best in the world in Time Management, Customer
Care and Quality of Service. Dr. PawanAgrawal had carried out far reaching
research on Logistics & Supply Chain Management of Dabbawala in Mumbai
from Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Nasik.
Dr. Pawan Agrawal elucidates supply chain system of Mumbai Dabbawala up to

minute details. This centenariansystem had successfully handled every logistical
challenge aroused due to day by day increasing complexity of Mumbai city, out
bursting population and traffic conjunctions. Dr. PawanAgrawalrevels secrets of
success of their system quoting various examples, facts and figures acquired
during his research.
Logistics spearheads are benefitted by arranging Dr. PawanAgrawal’s session for

their operation team. Corporates takes benefit by keeping his session for their
distributor network.
 The Story of Mumbai Dabbawalas by Shivani Pandita:

The journey of Mumbai Dabbawalas has been a fascinating one, where they have
proved their mettle over and over again. Every day, battling the traffic and
crowds of Mumbai city, the Dabbawalas, also known as Tiffinwallahs,
unfailingly delivered thousands of dabbas to hungry people and later returned the
empty dabbas to where they came from. The Dabbawalas delivered either home-
cooked meals from clients’ homes or lunches ordered for a monthly fee, from
women who cook at their homes according to the clients’ specifications. The
Dabbawalas’ service was used by both working people and school children. In
1998, Forbes Global magazine, conducted a quality assurance study on the
Dabbawalas’ operations and gave it a Six Sigma efficiency rating of 99.999999;
the Dabbawalas made one error in six million transactions. That put them on the
list of Six Sigma rated companies, along with multinationals like Motorola and
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GE. Achieving this rating and that too without the use of any technology or
paperwork, and that most of them were illiterate or semiliterate is indeed has been
a herculean task. Apart from Forbes, the Dabbawalas have aroused the interest of
many other international organizations, media and academia. It has very well
survived the threats from todays business environment but has manage to survive
through and that too has done it very well.
 A Cross Cultural Study of the Literacy Practices of the

Dabbawalas: Towards a New Understanding of Nonmainstream
Literacy and its Impact on Successful Business Practices by
S.Krishnan in January 2014:
This dissertation examines the literacy practices of the lunch box carriers in India.
The 5000 Mumbai Dabbawalas (DW), pick up and deliver 400,000 lunch boxes
with close to one hundred percent timely accuracy. Western and Eastern
researchers have praised the DW for their business acumen, even as they
deprecated the literacy levels of the DW, themselves. This study employed
multiple data streams, including videotape of interviews, observations and
shadowing focused on the literate practices of the DW. An analysis of over six
hundred pages of coded, transcribed and translated data reveal that the DW use a
variety of literacies, specific to their community and relevant for their business
goals and objectives. The invention and use of their coding system for lunch box
delivery and return is embedded in the geographical location, situation, context of
transaction, language, cultural rhetorics, and social practices (Street, 1984; Barton
and Hamilton, 1998; Gee, 2000). This code allows the DW to harness the
logistical power of the Mumbai Railroad for their business purposes. Ironically,
this study ultimately argues that the DW’s business success is not in spite of their
low literacy levels, but because they can use multiple literacies to ensure
customer communication. The study concludes with a call for Western and
Eastern researchers to reconsider their methods and conclusions while examining
cross-cultural literacy research.
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 Dabbawalas, Tiffin Carriers of Mumbai:Answering a

Need for Specific Catering by Marie Percot:
Tiffin carriers of Mumbai (Dabbawalas) are a well-known figure of the Indian
metropolis. So “typical” is their profession that important foreign guests –like
recently Prince Charles- are offered to visit them at Victoria Terminus or
Churchgate Station where they meet in order to deliver the lunch of their 100.000
customers. The existence of their activity is closely linked to Mumbai
geographical specificities, but it is also a result of the multiple differences
concerning food habits which exist between Indians.
This paper will, in a first part, presents how the Dabbawalas system is an actual
answer allowing the respect of the different food habits. The second part is
devoted to the explanation of the Dabbawalas system of delivery: sort of a relay
race which has been developed by these rural migrants showing a remarkable
knowledge of the metropolis.
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Principles & Discipline
Principles
 Shakti aur bhakti
 Work is Worship
 Manav seva me bhagwan seva milti hai , Anadan is Mahadan.
 Union is strength
 I trust man only because I trust in god
 Time is Power
Discipline
 Each Dabbawalla should wear white caps during business hours. Not wearing the
cap attracts a fine of Rs 25.
 Reporting on time at duty place.
 Behave properly and respect the customers.
 Carry identity cards.
 No alcohol during working hours. Consuming alcohol while on duty attracts a
fine of Rs 1,000.
 Unwarranted absenteeism is not tolerated and is treated with a similar fine. In the
event of a dabbawalla meeting with an accident on route, alternative
arrangements are made to deliver the lunch boxes.
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History
It was the time when English were ruling India. New government offices, post
offices, banks were emerging. At that time there were no pizza huts or McDonalds.
A Parsi banker employed a worker to bring homemade food to his office. His
colleagues too liked this idea and started availing this Service. Slowly this evolved
to the present 5000 Dabbawallas.
Hon. Mahadu Havji Bache educated only upto class 2. Started the Dabbawalla
system with only 35 Dabbawallas in 1890. Many farmers migrated from remote
villages near by and startded to work as Dabbawalla. A man of values, dedication
and business ethics with full enthusiasm started the service. The origin of the
Dabbawallas’ lunch delivery services dates back to the year1890. Mahadeo Havaji
Bacche, a migrant from Pune district (North Maharashtra) started this lunch delivery
service. At that time, people came from different states and form different
communities migrated to Mumbai for work. At working place there were no
canteens or fast food centers and they did not bring their lunch from home. Besides,
different communities had different food habits, tastes and preferences which could
only be satisfied by a home made meal. Recognizing the need, Mahadeo started this
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lunch delivery service. In his business, Mahadeo recruited young men from the
villages neighboring Mumbai (generally Pune district and adjoining areas), who had
no formal education or technical efficiency to get work in the city. There were 100
Dabbawallas at the Commencement of the service and charged the client Rs. 2 per
month. Gradually, the number of Dabbawallas increased. In 1950, Dabbawallas were
delivering 1, 00,000 lunches per day. After the death of Mahadeo they became
organized in 1954 and formed Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers’ Charity Trust.
Hon. Dhondiba. Medge fatherof present president Mr. Raghunath Medge study only
upto class 4. He framed the rules and regulations of Dabbawalla system.
Silver Coloured Cycles used by Dabbawalas
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Organizational Structure
The dabbawalas follow a flat organization structure .In 1890, when the dabbawalas
actually began their services, there was no umbrella organization the first attempt to
unionize was made by Mahadev Bacche in 1930. The carriers started collecting one
anna each per month then as fund and these funds were used to build an inn in 1940.
A charitable trust was registered in 1956 under the name of “ NUTAN MUMBAI
TIFFIN BOX SUPPLIERS TRUST ” . Today every dabbawala contribute certain
amount per month towards the trust. The commercial arm of this trust was registered
later in 1968 as “MUMBAI TIFFIN BOX CARRIERS ASSOCIATION”. The
NMTBST is the apex body representing the dabbawalas. It represents a trim
hierarchy with three tiers. The governing council the mukadams or team leader, and
the dabbawallas themselves.
President
Vice President
General
Treasurer Directors
Secretary
Mukkadam
Individual
Dabbawalas
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Members of Organization
GOVERNING COUNCIL
The governing council is a 13 member body for which election are held every five
years.
The committee works on the guidelines of the cooperatives, the vice president, the
general secretary, the treasurer and nine director constitute the body. President and
vice president are responsible for conducting monthly meetings checking the bank
accounts and problems of members. The general secretary looks into the daily
matters of the trust and association like drafting letters, making vouchers, collecting
funds as a fee for the trust and other work. Then is the treasurer, who looks into the
accounts of the trust. The directors help the president in decision making and also
helps in smooth functioning of the association.
MUKADDAM
A mukaddam is the team leader for a group of 25-30 members. Although his key
responsibility is sorting Tiffin boxes, he plays a crucial role in settling disputes
maintaining records of payments of the members of his group and getting new
clients. Another important function of the mukaddam is to ensure consumer
satisfaction. A mukaddam is generally chosen as the leader on the basis of his
experience and skill.
DABBAWALAS
Each dabbawalas is a dabbawala is a businessman himself. Therefore, each one has

to find out his own way to run a sustainable business. The dabbawalas operate in
groups of roughly 20-25 members, each carrying around 30-35 Tiffin boxes. There
are also some dabbawalas who operate individually. A total of 120 groups are
registered and all groups are independent of each other.
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Process
The 5000 dabbawalas are divided into 3 sets of activities. Between 9-9:30 am, one
crew of dabbawalas collects freshly packed Tiffin from individual homes and
delivers it to the nearest railway station, when they are sorted at a place designated
as sorting places on the station itself. This sorting is done as per the destination
stations, then, the train for churchgate or CST departs between 10:30 – 11:00 am and
stops at all stations with intermediate stop – over for the dabbawalas like Thane,
Kurla, Andheri and Dadar. At these junction, the second set of dabbawalas exchange
and sort the Tiffins in a speedy manner, involving ‘zero documentation’. Then there
is a third set of dabbawalas waiting at the respective destination- station who sort out
and assemble the respective set of tiffins and load them into handcraft, trays,
bicycles and then, each carrier sets out for the final delivery. Not to mention, after all
these efficiently carried out activities, a tiffin box rarely misses the destined stomach
at lunchtime.
Journey of Dabbawalas
The job of dabbawalas begins at around 8:00 – 8:30 am with collectin the tiffins
from various households. Usually, people generally leave their tiffins outside the
door for the dabbawalas to pick up. In case they are late, the dabbawalas have to
urge them to hurry up at times, very rarely though; the dabbawalas have to leave the
client’s tiffin if it gets really late.
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Onward Journey
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Return Journey
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The dabbawala picks up the tiffin from his lot of houses and meets the other group
members at the designated spot at the station. They should make sure that they reach
the platform for the sorting process at least 30 minutes prior in order to ensure a
smooth flowof their networking throughout the daily routine.
Now starts the critical phase of the system that is sorting of all the tiffins as per the
destination station and to arrange them in the wooden crates in a short period of 20-
25 minutes. The aim of this process is to segregate the tiffins in order to differentiate
them as per the destination and therefore it is important to make easier and less time
consuming for the respective dabbawala. This is essentially the process that makes
the entire system error-free. Since each tiffins changes many hand, each of the lids
of the tiffin is marked. With a colored code indicating the originating station,
destination and the building with the floor number the coding system is the secret
behind the efficient working of the system and that is exactly the reason why the
network is “information rich”.
Dabbawalas are semi-literate they understand the coding on the tiffins and can
effectively deliver them on time. This is a very unique feature also because it
requires no documentation or record keeping. There is no communication between
two different groups of dabbawalas but there is just simple coordination among them
because the whole ‘blue print’ is pre-decided by the dabbawalas themselves. Thus,
the dabbawalas have to ensure over here about proper coordination among them,
understand the coding system on the tiffins and delegate the jobs of dispatching the
tiffins to the respective dabbawalas.
The mukadam plays a key role over here to ensure the smooth working and proper
coordination. The responsibility of the mukadam is to the extent that he has to know
all the tiffins that his group carrier. Therefore, he must be able to recognize these
tiffins that his group carries. Therefore, he must be able to recognize these tiffins
even is the codes on them are barely visible. Also, if any member of the group
abstains from his duty for a particular day for some reason, then it is the
responsibility of the mukadam to ensure that all the dabbas that the absentee was
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responsible for are duly picked up and delivered back on time. Hence, we see that
the mukadam plays a key role in this stage of sorting and allocating jobs.
The dabbawalas load the wooden crates filled with tiffins onto the luggage or goods
compartment in the train. Generally, they choose to occupy the last compartment of
the train. This not only makes it more convenient for them as they avoid the rush at
the platform but is also very easy to locate as the last compartment is conveniently
situated once the train arrives at the platform. Mostly, other commuters avoid
boarding onto these compartments as they are already filled with the crates and there
is not enough room. There are also others joining into the group from these stations
as they have common
destination points.
The allocation of manpower at each station depends on the number of tiffins that are
to be delivered in that particular area. If there are 150 tiffins that are to be delivered
in Grant Road area, then 4 people would be assigned to that station. This is done
keeping in mind that one person can carry not more than 35 dabbas. They will also
be assigned specific codes which are written on top of the tiffin.
These four dabbawala can be from any groups and irrespective of any station. Their
job is now to deliver these 150 tiffins irrespective of which group they belong to. If
the number of tiffins that are to be delivered in an area like, Nariman point, is large
then the number of people allocated goes up. Within that area, if one location, lets
say, Mittal towers, has a huge number of the location number remains the same and
the tiffins are differentiated on the basis of color.
A unique feature of the system is that in bigger buildings with large office densities,
like nariman point, or the stock exchange itself, an elevator is specially reserved for
the dabbawalas during the lunchtime. Usually these elevators have queues
throughout the day as the offices are extremely busy and hence, in order to provide
convenience and quick delivery without queues, the dabbawalas have a special
elevator reserved for themselves onto which others cannot board. In some cases,
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they also leave the tiffins in the canteen that is common to the whole building and
hence the respective owners can simply pich up theirs. This is also a feature seen in
school where the dabbawalas deliver.
So, in this process, the dabbawalas save a lot of time by cutting short the delivery
process.Thereafter, the dabbawalas take a break and have their own lunch which is
usually their tiffins kept along with the others in the crate with special markings.
Different groups have their lunch at different locations. It is generally on the
footpath or some benches on the roadside. The break is usually of 45-60 minutes in
duration. Till then, the customers must finish having their lunch and keep the dabbas
outside for the dabbawala to collect.
Here on begins the collection process where the dabbawalas have to pick up the
tiffins from the offices where they had delivered almost an hour ago. The
dabbawalas are the same in this case. The one who delivers it to th office wil be the
one who collects it. Most of the time, the dabbawalas will collect all dabbas from all
the offices situated on the same floor and will leave them in corridor.
This is actually the only risky point in the entire network system. This is because
there is a risk of theft when the dabbawala leaves the tiffin outside at the corridor.
The only solution to this is, to have another dabbawala securing the dabbas while the
other one goes and collects the remaining. This is related to a personal experience
and hence a mention of this incident is critical in analyzing the mechanism of the
system. By complaints and suggestion from customers, the dabbawalas can actually
bring some improvement in the system such as the one mentioned. A dabbawala
who can secure the procured tiffins can greatly help in reducing thefts.
After the collection is over, the dabbawalas meet the remaining group members at a
designated spot and the first assortment on the return journey takes place. The group
members meet with their respective crates and the segregation as per the destination
suburb takes place. The group departs together after this stage, which usually takes
just 15 minutes. Therefore, they depart for the station and all groups meet for a
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common sorting process. The crates are arranged in a line and each dabbawala picks
up the tiffin that belongs to his group at the destination center.
One important thing to note is that a particular dabawala need not operate in same
group throughout the day. He will, in most cases operate with 2 different groups.
One at the originating station and one at the destination. The coordination is equally
important in either groups and there is total unity among them.
After the sorting in various crates, they start departing in their respective trains
which again is pre decided and is a part of their daily routine. In this case, the group
being discussed as an example leaves by the 2:48 pm local to Andheri. This part of
the journey is more relaxed because the dabbawala are not under immense pressure
of timely delivery as in the morning.
In the return journey, where the group finally meets up after the day’s routine of
dispatching and collecting from various destination offices the group members
finally arrive at the station with the same dabbas that they had started off with in the
morning.
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. This eases their stress and helps in a developing stronger bond among the
group. Of course, other passenger also join them in the merry making at times and
hence, these dabbawalas have created an impression upon other passenger of being
hard working, dedicated and joyous people. This is the stage where the final sorting
and dispatch for final destination takes place. This is the easiest process because
with the limited quantity of tiffins that gets off the train with them, it is simpler to
identify which tiffin belongs to whom.
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The dabbawalas take out their respective tiffins from the crates and either carry 10-
15 of them physically on themselves or load them onto the crates till they reach their
cycle.Then, each of them departs on their way with the same dabbas that he took in
the morning and delivers them to the respective houses. This delivery process takes
roughly 30-45 minutes depending on the distance that the dabbawala will have to
cover.Thus, the entire network system ends with the delivery of the tiffin back to the
customer’s origin point at the precise time every day. The customer is satisfied with
timely delivery of home food and the dabba back to the origin.
Coding
The number of tifins have increased for the dabbawalas as the days passed on. As
every tiffin box had to be carried to and fro, mapping each box its carrier was crucial
or else, it would lead to chaos. For this purpose ,the dabbawalas started trying strings
to their boxes while some used wires or colored threads. But soon, these methods
were found inadequate a the number of tiffins kept growing exceptionally. Therefore
there was a need for a new form of inexpensive coding which would be
understandable by the illiterate dabbawalas. Hence , in the 1970`s a senior member
from Ragunath medge`s ( President of dabbawalas association) family decided to
implement a new system where all box codes and markings were uniform the
dabbawalas. This system would cater to any number of tiffins, no matter the growth
in new additions. This system was an ingenious creation. It served as a common
code for all dabbawalas which was easy to decipher. The dabbawalas, being illiterate
should be able to understand it and explain it with ease to new comers and outsiders
and that was the most important thing to remember while creating the codes.
This coding system eventually stood the test of time and proved extensible. With
coding in place, there was enough scope to factor in new development like adding
new dabbawalas or new office blocks or new sources and destination. The new
system depends on common protocols, a typical Indian approach to versatile
distribution. Each tiffin containing the food has a number of codes in alphabets and
numbers on its top which identify the following:-
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 The code allocated to each Dabbawala in a group that picks up the tiffin from a
particular area or suburb.
 The code of the origin station, which is usually one of the suburb on western,central
or harbor lines.
 The code for destination, which is again churchgate, CST or any othercommercial
lines The code for the dabbawala in the destination area who hands the tiffin there.
 The code for the location or office buildings in the destination area.
 The floor or the room number in that building
Besides these, there is also a difference in the color of paints or chalk that they use to
write the codes on the top of the dabba. Different groups will have different color
code written on the top pf the dabba so that the tiffin belonging to a group remains
distinct. This is necessary because there is usually more than just one group present
at each station. The destination codes will be the same for all groups at the same
station. This makes it difficult to distinguish their tiffins so the simplest way of
bringing the distinctions that is required is by coding with different colors. This is a
simple and easy way of differentiating the codes, which is also easy to understand
for the illiterate dabbawala. The maximum number of color used in this system is
seven.
Incidentally, each group of dabbawala must also carry colored pencils or chalk so
that they can write the codes if they have been erased or are difficult to interpret.
Obviously, each and every dabbawala must know the coding system very well and
must also know all the dabbas in his group with respect to the origin and destination.
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VP – The first thing on the tiffin, is the code for the originating station from where
the dabbawalas picks up the tiffin in the morning. In this case VP denotes Vile Parle.
The area under this station will include Juhu and also J.V.P.D scheme since this is
the only station, which is nearest. Even if the dabbawala goes it the most interior
parts like juhu, it will not be mentioned in the coding simply because the dabbawalas
are just concerned about the respective railway station.
E – This is the code for the dabbawala who is picking up the tiffin from its origin or
home. In this case, the dabbawala with the code of ‘E ` , will be a part of the group
distinguished by the color code ‘RED’. In many instances, the code will be the initial
of the name of the dabbawala. This is one of the elements that can be changed
during the course of time if the dabbawala for that particular customer changes.
3 – This is the code for the destination area. This may not necessarily be restricted to
a station only. For, instance, churchgate is allotted number codes from 1-10. Number
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11 is allotted to Marine lines ,12 to Charni road and so on. In this example , the
number ‘3’ is allotted to the area between Flora Fountain and cross Maidan area .
Other prime locationwould include Nariman point, stock exchange, ballard pier, RBI
etc.
9 – VS – 12
9 – This is the code number for the dabbawala who delivers the tiffin to the
destination office from Churchgate station. This is the dabbawala who is responsible
for delivering to the respective office and picking it up after the lunch hours. He is a
part of another group from the one he worked with at the originating station. Thus,
in most cases, each dabbawala will be a part of more than one group for sure one at
the origin and one at the destination.
VS – This code denotes the exact location or more likely, the building’s initial in the
area that falls under churchgate station. In this case, it is the VSNL building VS
being the initial for the building is unique and therefore , creates no confusion
whatsoever for the dabbawalas. Office buildings around southern Mumbai are very
popular and hence, easy to comprehend when given in codes. Other examples would
be M for mittal towers, R for RBI, and MC for Makers Chambers and so on.
12 – Finally, the last code among the three codes that form the right side of the top
of the dabba is the floor on the building ( VSNL) or the room number in case of
building with large number of rooms on each floor. Such an example would be stock
exchange, RBI , and BMC etc.
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Pricing
As mentioned earlier, the rationale behind the development of a group model in the
business is to improve the competitiveness of the system. If there are 5 groups in
Andheri then each group will fight in order to require new customers because each
group is responsible for generating its own income.
Generally, the service charges vary between Rs.500 to Rs.1000 per month depending
on factors:
 LOCATION – In some populated areas such as RBI colonies or apartment

complexes such as the Lokhandwala complex in Andheri, the charges are lower
because there are a lot of clients in these areas. At one point of time, there used to be
2 handcrafts full of tiffins from RBI colony situated at Santacruz (w). This is very
economical for the dabbawalas and hence the charges are lower so that more and
more customers can opt for the service. In another case, where the area is less
populated or the demand for this service is minimum, example, Juhu area, the
charges will be comparatively higher since the demand is poor and it is
uneconomical for the dabbawala to travel all the way to juhu for just one or two
dabbas which give him the same amount of money. Thus, they charge a higher or
lower price depending upon the area.
 TIME – Sometimes , the client may not be able to prepare the dabba at the time that
is convinent for the dabbawala to pick up. In such a case, the dabbawala is forced to
make an exception and hence his charges are more because he has to put in extra
effort to make it all that time suitable to the client. Whereas, if the client can prepare
the tiffin at the time convinent for the dabbawala to pick up, his charges will be
lower as it is now convinent for him and he has to put in equal effort without making
an exception.
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Money is collected in the first week of every month and it is remitted to the
‘Mukadam’ on the first Sunday. The money thus collected, is divided among all the
members of the group equally.
For example , if three are four groups at Santacruz that is Red , Green , Yellow and
Blue. Now , if there are 15 members in red group and the total number of customer
serviced by the group is 375 and the amount thus collected is Rs. 75,000. Then this
total amount would be divided equally among all members.
There are two aspects to this transaction that is if one dabbawala service 40
customers and one another one service just 20 customer. Here both the parties get
equal share because of two factors – time and location.
Also, one has to consider that the dabbawala collecting 40 tiffins may have collected
all of them from one area itself ( like RBI colony) in 30 minutes. Whereas, the other
dabbawala collecting 20 tiffins may have had to travel long distance covering a large
area in order to collect his 20 tiffins in over an hour’s time. Thus, it would be unfair
to hi if the first dabbawala is paid a higher amount. Out of the total proceeds earned
by each dabbawala, Rs.60 per crate and Rs.120 per man per month have to be paid
to the railways to obtain the pass.
Nevertheless, each dabbawala earns, on an average Rs.4000-Rs 5000. He makes a

contribution of Rs.10 per month to the association for the utilization of bringing
upliftment to their community. Loans are given by the association and also,
contributions are made at religious places during festival such as Mahashivratri at
Bhimashankar.
Considering all these factors, one can say that the monthly charges that the
dabbawalas take, is not at all expensive. The service delivered with the efficiency
and accuracy is all worth it.
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HR Aspects
One of the most important factors behind the success of the dabbawalas is efficient
human resource management. Most of the dabbawalas come from the same region
and community in Maharashtra they are a tight knit group and rarely have dispute
among themselves, which results in good working relationship. Dabbawalas operate
without any HR policies but still each dabbawala is self- motivated to perform is job.
There is no absenteeism and every dabbawala follows the rules and policies of the
association perfectly. There is very low attrition rate and the recruitment and training
of dabbawala is also carried out by them.
RECRUITMENT
Recruitment is essentially done through word of mouth and from neighboring town
Over the years, the dabbawalas has become a growing community of busy delivery-
men who carry out their work with honesty and commitment. This is because each
person in the value chain is selected very carefully and with due recommendation
only. The implication of the word 'recommendation' is different from the common
parlance – the referrer assumes responsibility for the incumbent's conduct
throughout the working life.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBER
1. The village address and other details are taken and then the membership to the
association to the association and bank is granted
2. Two guarantors from the group are required. Usually, they are the senior members
of the group.
3. The new member is paid a fixed amount of Rs.2000 for the first 6 – 7 months till
he is completely trained for handling his own business.
4. Lastly, when joining the group, the new comer has to contribute to the capital of
the association in 1:7 ratios of the group’s average monthly earnings. That means
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that the new entrant must contribute 5000 as capital if his group’s average monthly
earnings are Rs.35000.
5. There is a belief in religious neutrality and therefore, people of all casts are
welcome to join. Nevertheless, most of the dabbawalas still remain Maharashtrians
and a small proportion of Rajastanis.
TRAINING
Every dabbawala when recruited undergoes minimum six month training about
traveling in train delivering the tiffins language etc. this is the crucial part where a
new dabbawala will learn every aspects of the process. As they are recommended by
an existing dabbawala the training process becomes easy. Here dabbawala is thought
to follow the code of conduct and discipline that he has to maintain during his
working hours. After the training period the dabbawala becomes the owner of his
business and will be given chance to recommend new member. During the training
period he learns to travel in local trains, routes to different destination in the city, he
is taught to get new customers.
SALARY
The dabbawalas operate in groups of 25-30. Each group pool in the collected money
and deduct the expenses that was incurred during the month like the train pass,
bicycle maintenance and other charges and average of the amount is divided equally
among the group. Each dabbawala earns minimum Rs.5000 – Rs.6000 per month
The salary of the dabbawala depends on the number of customer the group serves.
Attrition rate
The association has 0% attrition rate a every dabbawala is very satisfied with the job
and somewhere they feel they are serving the society. The dabbawalas enjoy their
work and have high level of satisfaction and cooperation with their other colleagues
and the feeling of ownership they share never gives them a reason to quite there job.
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SAFETY AND WELFARE
There is no protection for the dabbawalas from the rain and scorching sun. Even the
dabbas are not under any cover or protection except for what is actually given by the
customer. Raincoats do not provide adequate protection when they have to cycle
around. Whereas, umbrellas are more of a haste o carry around during their hectic
activities.Thus, they are vulnerable to any illness during the season. As for the
dabbas, it’s not much of a worry because the rainwater isn’t going to get into the
food anyway.
There is also a minute risk of the bicycles getting stolen or tiffins getting stolen or
lost but its extremely rare. Since three is no insurance for anything, what is lost is a
loss incurred by the responsible dabawala. In case the tiffin gets stolen or lost, the
respective customers of the dabbawalas are to deduct the amount from the
dabbawalas salary. In other cases, where the incident of the loss is due to the fault of
another member that leads to a dispute, that matter is then settled during the monthly
meetings held at dadar where the committee decides who will bear the compensation
and who is to be blamed. Of course, the loss of a tiffin is a one in 8 million cases that
leads to the achievement of six sigma distinction. As for the bicycles, the
dabbawalas usually have an understanding with the watchmen or security people
who take care of these cycles as the dabbawalas are away delivering. In case they do
get stolen, nobody is blamed and the dabbawala has to bear the loss completely.
During morning times, the carriage would take around 40-50 tiffins. Now, each
tiffins is filled with food and the whole carriage weighs on an average 70-80
kgs.This is extremely heavy for a head load. But the dabbaala manage this as their
daily routine. So much weight in the scorching heat of the day may lead to fatigue
and therefore is unsafe for them but due to the physical fitness levels, it is rare for a
dabbawala to fall ill due to fatigue. But there is no welfare policy in this regards.
The only welfare activity carried out by the union is the social gathering that the
association carries out every year at their village festival.
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RULES AND POLICIES
An important feature of the dabbawalas service is customer satisfaction also the

ultimate objective of any logistic operation.Keeping in line with this objective, all
problem are usually resolved by the association’s officials:
 Like of theft or loss of a Tiffin-box, if any carrier is found guilty then the client is
allowed to deduct the costs from the dabbawalas charges for the subsequent month.
If a client receives improper services by any dabbawala, for which a complaint has
been made to the association that particular dabbawala will be directed to end his
services with that client and another dabbawala will be allotted to the client. In this
manner, no future disputes between that client and the dabbawala will arise and with
the allocation of another dabbawala is his place, the client will also receive
continuous and efficient service. Thus leading to greater customer satisfaction.
 The association also has the responsibility of handling all the internal disputes.Apart
from discouraging undercutting between two dabbawalas, the association has to
handle all kinds of disputes arising between two dabbawalas. For this reason, the
association charges Rs.100-200/- before looking into the complaint. This is done to
ensure that the official’s time is not wasted on any petty disputes. A meeting is
conducted every 1 days of every month at the dadar office where all the committee
members assemble and all complaints and disputes are heard and resolved. The
dabbawalas are not supposed to take any major decision and are not supposed to
claim any amount arising out of a disputes until the actual dispute matter is brought
forward in front of everyone during the monthly meet.
 Each Tiffin carrier has to pay Rs.15 to the union every month. This money
accumulates and helps as aid in maintaining and funding their ‘Dharamshalas’
atvarious locations in Maharashtra. This is a social of the association since the
dabbawalas get proper accommodation whenever they go to these places.
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 In the association code of ethics, no dabbawala is allowed to undercut another. As

far as possible, coordination among groups is encouraged so that undercutting
doesn’t lead to disputes.
 The whole dabbawalas union takes a one week break every year in the month of
March when all go to Ambegaon for their annual village festival. This is a welcome
break from the hectic day to day routine that the dabbawala follow. All customer are
informed much in advance about this period when the dabbawalas will collectively
remain absent from duty. This is the individual dabawalas responsibility to
communicate with the clients and in order to authenticate the reason for the leave the
association also circulates notices for customer along with each carrier.
 Wearing the traditional white cap is very important. It is the only integral symbol of
the dabbawala. If a dabbawala is caught not wearing the cap, he wil be fined Rs.30
when spotted by the official.
 Each dabbawala is allowed to carry a maximum of 35 Tiffin boxes. If the number is

more than 35, then the excess Tiffins need to be carried by another carrier.
 In the long historical relationship with Mumbai city, the dabbawalas have one major
unattended demand. The union has constantly requested the railways to reserve one
goods compartment for them during the peak hours but they have not been adhered
to. But, it is an unwritten rule that people are not to load the particular goods
compartment occupied by dabbawalas for their goods. Meaning between 10:00 and
11:30 am and 15:00 to16:30 hrs, commuters generally are not supposed to board the
goods compartment occupied by the dabbawallas. In fact , until the 1970`s, the
particular compartment read something like reserved for Tiffin carrier. But with
growing number of commuters and more and more demand for better service and
space, this reservation has been discontinued.
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 Every dabbawala has to handle his own expenses handcraft and bicycle
maintenance, railway pass, luggage pass and all other contribution and fees. They
can also opt for the loan from union at around 5%p.a , which is lower than market
rate of interest. The union also runs a small co-operative bank in order to help the
dabbawalas and the community as a whole. The dabbawalas belong to a large
community and hence, it is a part of the association’s social commitment to help
achieve the upliftment of the community.
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LIFELINE OF THE SYSTEM
The dabbawalas owe a lot to the Mumbai local train transportation for their superior
efficiency. The local trains of Mumbai city cover approximately 60-70 kilometer and
this distance is covered by hundreds of trains operating with a frequency of three
minutes. A local train rarely late I its feature helps the dabbawalas dispatch the
Tiffin boxes on time. The facility of an efficient suburban railway system does not
exist elsewhere in India and this is the main reason for the dabbawalas not exceeding
their operation beyond Mumbai city.
The entire dabbawalla system works on the military discipline based on a shared
agenda and a common protocol. The dabbawala are spread over the entire city and
hence all the three lines of the local train that is western, harbor and central line are
completely utilized by them. The main stations in these three lines are Dombivilli,
Andheri, Dadar, Kurla, Grant Road, Churchgate and CST. These form the major
sorting station for the dabbawalas. Each station essentially contains 4 to 8 groups
depending upon the density of population at each station and the demand ‘The day
the Mumbai local trains would stop, our business would also stop”, said Ragunath
Megde president of dabawalla association.
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SIX SIGMA
In the year 1998 the famous US business Magazine The Forbes gave the dabbawalas
system a SIX SIGMA plus performance rating or a 99.999999 percentage of
correctness. In simple words, this means one error in six million transactions, a
benchmark reserved for blue chip companies like Motorola. From a six sigma
perspective the dabbawalas must contend with two critical quality parameters, the
lunch boxes must be delivered on time. The response variables therefore are arrival
time and correct box delivered which has been well adhered to by the dabbawalas.
The other factors which has enabled the dabbawalas to achieve the six sigma
distinction are –
1. HIGH CONFORMITY IN THE SYSTEM: The system operates in such a manner

that every individual has personal interest in conforming to the basic principle and
discipline. He understand that when he delivers someone else’s Tiffin, his own are
being distributed by someone else. And that is the reason why he conforms to the
norm. his participation in the system is ensured by peer’s participation. This
interlock in the system ensures a greater responsibility and thus a better
performance.
2. BUFFER IN LEAD-TIME: The system is made with a buffer in the lead-time.

They have around two-and-a-half to three hour time to deliver the boxes. Mostly it
only takes the dabbawalas around 30 to 45 minutes to collect the boxes and bring
them to the station. From here it again takes another 30-45 minutes to deliver the
Tiffin boxes. So, there is actually imbedded a time slack in the delivery process, so
that even if a dabbawala misses the planned train, he will still be able to deliver the
lunch boxes in time. So on most days the dabbawalas have waiting time when they
arrive at their delivery station, which they utilize forsorting the Tiffin boxes. This is
the reason for their timely delivery. This time margin is necessary to keep up the
impressive on time delivery statistic.
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3. SYSTEM DESIGNED IN ACCORDANCE WITH HUMAN CAPABILITIES:

The system is designed, to the capabilities of the employees. They have devised a
system so that no one has to remember more than 30-40 places of collection and
delivery. This number is partly picked as a result of two things-First, because of the
time available and second these many are the numbers they find easy to remember
and distinguish.
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SWOT ANALYSIS
A SWOT analysis is very important for a thorough and complete analysis of the
Dabbawallas system. Being over a 100 years old organization ,it is bound to have
many strength inherent in the system and it may also have certain weaknesses
arising out of conventional methodology. There will be several opportunities since it
is such an open organization and its performance is also always visible to everyone.
Lastly , there will surely be certain threats to this system. Increasing competition
from various other means and sources that provide similar or substituting services to
commuters will also have a great impact on the organization.
STRENGTHS:
SIMPLICITY IN ORGANIZATION – The organizational structure is very

simple. It is a loose cooperative with the entire organization divided into strategic
business units that is group of 10-20 individual dabbawalas. These group are
responsible for their own sources of money and have to maintain their own accounts
if required. Therefore, they are financially independent. With relatively medium
income levels and greater levels of customer satisfaction, this organization does not
at all need a rigid operating structure.
COORDINATION – The groups, although independent as far as money matter are

concerned ,work very smoothly and effectively with each other. Not only is the
coordination within the group is 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 station and will
gradually, the individuals will merge into groups for delivery. The effectiveness of
coordination can best be seen during the sorting process. There is no rivalry
whatsoever among different groups and the functioning is smooth and problem free.
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INTEGRATED WORKING – a large number of groups coordinate among

themselves and dabbawalas change their groups for picking up and dispatching at
the origin and destination stations. They can practically wok with the same
efficiency in any group. This makes the end result extremely efficient and the
customer satisfaction is also high. The basic reason for this is the integrated working
pattern. A highly accurate and efficient coding system along with the efficient
system of local trains leads to a complete integration of the working of all groups at
various station. A single dabbawala is never completely devoted to one single
tifiinbox. Therefore , this integration goes a long way in asserting the success of this
system.
TEAM SPIRIT – All the dabbawalas mostly operates 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 a
weather elements, crowd, disputes with outsiders etc.., are all neglected when it
comes to performing the duty first. Because of the time constrain , every dabbawala
knows that he must work effectively in the tem in order to complete the job
successfully. Another reason for the great team spirit is that most dabbawalas are
from same region and community and therefore it’s like a huge family that is
working together of earn a livelihood. Disputes are often for short period only and
they get back to working with everyone in a very friendly way. Cooperation is the
key element here. Apart from the advantage that one deserve by working in a group,
people prefer to work in a group simply because it is a team which pools all the
efforts and gives the most efficient overall output in terms of productivity and
efficiency.
SIMPLE LIVING – The dabbawalas are basically a part of a large community that
was directing descendent of Shivaji Maharaj `s work force and army. Therefore ,
their origins date back to the glory days of the region and hence, their nature is
essentially simple and orthodox. Rather, one can say that they seem to be like simple
,cheerful and amble folk. But this is lighter side of the dabbawalas who is like a
military personnel carrying out the duties with immense hard work and agility. At
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work, they perform like a ruthless army with a mission to achieve victory by racing
against time. Their daily agenda, if experimented by the common man in practicality
will not only exhaust him but will make him have more and more respect for the
great army of tiffin carriers who have such a vigorous daily exercise to perform.
Whenever they have an opportunity or have time in hand, like during lunch or while
sitting in the train during the journeys, the dabbawalas show their true nature and
simplicity in character by sharing some light moments. They are cheerful ,joyous
and relaxed folk. Difficult characteristics to believe if one were to simply see the
way they work. But by simple traveling with them for a day, one can make out that
they welcome strangers who are willing to know more about them and want to talk
to them. They are also very inquisitive about the happenings of the world.
Be it technology in new gadgets, sports, politics, and products that have been
introduced in the market. They are very cooperative and cheerful when interacted
they are satisfied with what they earn out of their hard work.
LOW OPERATION COST – The cost 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 color pencils or paint or
chalk. The money matters are handled individually by groups and therefore the
incomes and common expenses are borne by the group itself. It is difficult to find
any organization that operates on such a large scale and yet is so cost efficient.
CONVENTIONAL WORKING METHODS – The working methodology of the

dabbawalas is totally conventional. It consists of non-technology based techniques
and yet. It is very efficient. There is absolutely no computerization involved in
maintaining client accounts, in the systematic networking of tiffin carriage, in
maintaining records ofthe number of dabbawalas, the number of absentees or even
complaints. All this is handled individually by the respective groups. For the number
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of tiffins allotted , each dabbawalas is responsible for collecting the money from his
own clients and he has to handle their complaints too. If there are major disputes ,
they have to resolve during the monthly meetings held at dadar that are convened by
the association. There is no paper work involved as well. All the transport logistic,
client account , tiffin allocation 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, client accounts and
differences in income and expenditures so efficiently.
CUSTOMER SATIFACTION – The clients of the dabbawalas are an extremely

satisfied lot. They have no disputes with the dabbawalas as matters can be resolved
face to face and in most cases, the dabbawalas policy makes things simpler. If in a
particular case the client’s tiffin gets misplaced or lost, the dabbawalas takes the
responsibility irrespective of the fact that another carrier working in the destination
area might have lost the dabba. It was primarily the responsibility of the dabbawala
who is under the respective client’s contract to ensure the safety of the tiffin. He has
taken his own decision to delegate the job of delivery to another member and hence,
he has to bear the loss for the misplaced tiffin-box. Therefore , this policy being
simple as it is , the client is quite satisfied because there are no disputes and claim
issues. In other cases such as leaves, 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 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 of the cases. Other leaves include the weeklong holiday
that all dabbawalas take for attending their annual village festival. This information
is provided to the client before-hand and is intimated one week
in advance so that it is not inconvenient at the last moment.
Page | 43
WEAKNESS
FUNDS FOR THE ASSOCIATION – The association has very limited funds for
the organization. Every dabbawalla has to deposit Rs.15 every month to the
association. With around 5000 dabbawalas working, that would amount to Rs.67,500
for the association per month. That translate to over Rs.8 lakhs. With this fund, the
association has to maintain all the pilgrimage places where it has set up
dharamshalas. It also has to sponsor certain welfare benefits to the dabbawalas in
terms of medical aid and financial aid to family members of the dabbawala involved
in an accident. The association can accumulate more funds and allocate them for
programs such as children education, upliftment of communities at village level and
other welfare benefits. But this shortage of funds hinders these possibilities.
HIGH DEPENDABILITY ON LOCAL TRAINS – The entire dabbawala

network, barring a few who function independability on bicycles, its totally
dependent on the functioning of the railways. They work only if the train works.
Therefore, during the bandh or railway strike, 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 roits. The
trains are hence, very efficient in their daily functionality. This enables the
dabbawalas to perform their operation regularly enough. But the underlined fact is
that function only when the trains function and therefore their over dependence on
the railway network is an undeniable weakness.
ILLITERACY – The majority of the members of the dabbawala association can

only manage to sign their names. They are unable to read or write in English. This
poses as a major problem in case the individual leaves the association and has to
look at an alternative profession. His inability to read or write will then pose a
problem to his own survival. The association does not take any up any initiative to
educate the dabbawalas. As a part of its welfare and social commitment, education is
absent from the agenda. Butthe dabbawalas do manage to carry out their operations
Page | 44
with their limited ability to read and write. They are able to comprehend the codes
imprinted on the tiffins. If they are totally illiterate. They are trained to that level but
in most cases, the dabbawalas do not require this kind of training because the
association has set this minimum criterion for the applicant who want to join the
association. Unfortunately, in today’s times, it is necessary to acquire proper
knowledge and education to secure one’s future. Not all dabbawalas work till they
are 65 or 70 years old therefore they require the knowledge to support themselves.
Thus, it is definitely a weak point.
OPPURTUNITIES
ADVERTISING – The dabbawalas have been approached by various companies

before for advertising on the tiffins. The most famous and successful campaign to
date has been the ` kaun banega crorepati ` advertisement. Star plus approached the
organization and offered a amount of Rs.10,000 for pasting its sticker’s o every tiffin
box. This is incidentally the standard rate the association charges from every
company that wishes to advertise. The ` 9 baj gaye kya? ` campaign was a great
success as all office goers would notice this on their tiffin boxes every day and
would hence remember to watch the program at 9 pm every night. It had a great
recall value. Thus, association has several more opportunities to grab in form of
additional revenue that arises from these advertisement is also minute compared to
the exposure that it offers. The contract would be on a weekly basis or a monthly
basis.
OTHER CITIES – The dabbawala network could also work in other cities but in a
smaller scale. Cities like pune already have a small network of dabbawalas who
operate on bicycle only. There is definitely a source of income in such cities as there
is a huge market. Although the absence of local train makes it very difficult for the
dabbawalas to operate is major cities like Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad ,Ahmedabad
etc but they can operate in medium scale. Cities like delhi now have the metro rail as
an efficient means of transport. Thus, these cities are a great opportunity for th
dabbawalas to expand their service network.
Page | 45
CATERING – Considering the increasing competition from restaurants and

catering services for customers. There are a large number of customer who find it
difficult to prepare the lunch early in the morning. Especially in the case of working
women who have to prepare the lunch for the husband and herself and also manage
to reach the office on time. In such cases ,if there could be the convenience of
catering as well as delivering services, it would be an ideal benefit for many
customer.
THREATS
The business of the dabawallas had to withstand some major shocks during the last
decade.
TEXTILE INDUSTRY SHUTDOWN

A major chuck of the clientele were lost with the closure of textile mills in Mumbai.
These mills constituted a huge labour force and thus , their was a severe blow to the
dabbawalas.
CHANGE IN TIMINGS
Many of the city’s banks changed their timings from 10:30 hrs to 11:00 hrs. The RBI
employees used to leave for work at 9:00 am previously and so there were crates of
tiffins leaving from the colonies but after the changes in timing, they can leave an
hour later and take their lunch with them as they have sufficient time for the
preparation.
SUBSIDIZED LUNCH
Many of the school and companies are now offering subsidized lunch in their in
house canteens. Hence ,the student and employees don’t have to carry tiffins
anymore.
Page | 46
EATERY STALL
The eating trends have changed and so there is a decrease in the demand for the
dabbawala`s service. The number of eating options has increased drastically. Not
only restaurants but cheaper outlets serving a variety of meals are now a flourishing
business. These stall and outlet prepare huge vessels filled with a complete meal and
sell it for etc are among the variety of cuisines offered at really cheap rates. Almost
every lane in downtown Mumbai has some outlet or the other. People get used to the
taste and do not care too much about quality. In most cases, the quality is genuinely
good in case of meals that are pre-cooked and served.
TICKET RESTAURANT THEME

Many offices have now started issuing coupons to their employees which are valid at
particular restaurants. These are known as ticket restaurants. Employees can enjoy
restaurant grade food at the company expense. Smoking joe`s , shiv sagar , copper
chimney etc are some of the restaurants. Overcoming these threats is a great
challenge for the dabbawalas. In most cases, it is impossible for them to substitute
the eatery stalls and subsidized food offered by companies but the advantage to them
still remains that their customers can get warm home cooked food at the lunch hour
Page | 47
Data Analysis and Interpretations
Here in this part we are going to analyse the data collected through the
answers given by the dabbawalas to the questions in the questionna ire.
For the purpose 20 dabbawalas were given the questionnaire to fill. In
the course they were also asked the reasons for the answers for a
particular questions.
Page | 48
 Educational Qualification
Education Qualification No. of Dabbawalas

0 2
1-5 2
6-10 9
11-12 2
Graduate 0
According to the survey conducted 15% of the dabbawalas are not educated, but
they know the entire coding system which is in English language.
30% dabbawalas lie in 1st -5th standard education while 45% lie in 6th -10th standard
education.
10% of them lie in 11th -12th standard education.
Mr. Raghunath Megde President of NMTBSA has completed their graduation from
Mumbai university.
Page | 49
 For how many years have you been working as a dabbawala ?
No of Years No of Dabbawalas
1-5 8
6-10 6
11-15 3
16-20 3
21 & above 0
This question was asked to know the number of people who are loyal to the
association.
40% of the people where having 1-5 years of experience working with NMTBSA.
30% had an experience of 6-10 years while people with 11-15 & 16-20 years where
15%.
Page | 50
 Monthly Salary
Salary Count
Upto 1000 1
1000-5000 7
5000-10000 11
Above 10000 1
The monthly salary of 55% of the dabawalas surveyed is between 5000-10000.

The number of dabbawalas earning more than 10000 is very less.
35% of the dabbawalas earn between 1000-5000.
Page | 51
 Is the monthly salary enough to fulfill daily needs?
Options Count
Yes 6
No 14
The 30% of Dabbawalas are satisfied with their salary and are able to fulfill their
basic needs.
70% of the dabbawalas are not satisfied with their salary because it is not enough to
fulfill their basic needs.
Page | 52
 Have you got any Insurance cover from NMTBSA ?
Options Count
Yes 0
No 20
The dabbawalas work includes a lot of field work. So insurance cover is a must for
them.
But Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Supplier Association (NMTBSA) has not provided
insurance cover & are not thinking about giving insurance cover in the future to the
members.
Member of the association are privately taking insurance cover from various
Insurance firms.
Page | 53
 As per the nature of the job, have you faced injury during your
work ?
Options Count
Yes 9
No 11
55% of Dabbawala met with an accident in the course of duty. They also mentioned
the reason of an accident. The reasons are as follows.
 The four wheeler rammed to cycle at busy areas at the time of delivering.
 Due to continuous cycle riding they face problem of pain in leg, chest.
 Injury while loading and unloading into local trains .
The remaining 45% Dabbawala said that they know the art of riding cycle with carrying
Page | 54
 Do you get retirement benefit from NMTBSA ?
Options Count
Yes 0
No 20
Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association is not providing any retirement
benefit or old age benefit to their members.
There reason behind this is:
 NMTBSA charges low fees from their customers.
 They do not have sufficient balance to provide retirement benefit.
Page | 55
 Other than working as dabbawala, do you work somewhere else?
Options Count
Yes 7
No 13
The Dabbawalas are getting only Rs.5000-6000 monthly.

This amount is not sufficient to live in Mumbai. The Dabbawalas family consists
spouse, children, parents who are totally depended on them.
65% of Dabbawalas are not doing any extra work because they are tired after their
daily work.
22% of Dabbawalas who are young they do part-time job in morning or in evening.
Page | 56
 How do you rate your experience working with NMTBSA?
Options Count
Very Good 0
Good 4
Neutral 9
Bad 5
Very Bad 2
45% of the dabbawalas gave a neutral answer to this question. They were not clear
about the job satisfaction they receive from NMTBSA.
20% said that they have had a good experience working with NMTBSA.
Nearly 35% of the dabbawalas are having a bad experience working with NMTBSA.
Page | 57
Recommendations
 Association must think about providing insurance cover to all Dabbawalas. They can
contact many insurance providers & can take a group policy for Dabbawalas which
would cost less than single insurance cover.
 They should expand their business & try to start business in other kind of sectors
like courier services. Some Dabbawalas are not satisfied working with association
because they are well educated and feel uncomfortable while doing field work. Due
to unemployment they forcefully came into these professions. If NMTBSA
starts providing services in new sector & give an opportunity to young generation
then it will definitely improve their standard of living & attain growth.
 The Association should start adult education classes for uneducated & less educated
Dabbawalas. Association should arrange Adult education classes for Dabbawalas
which provide basic education as well as market knowledge. This will make them
competitive to face global competition.
Page | 58
Conclusion
The concept of ‘Dabbawalla’ comes into picture in one of India’s big and busiest
cities–where people can enjoy the fresh homemade lunch every day. What a
wonderful service they provide. It is not just a service but a vocation. Their main
aim is customer satisfaction. The trust shows how these illiterate or semiliterate
Dabbawallas have mastered the art of logistics management, supply chain
management, customer service, Just-in-time management, team work and problem
solving. People cannot believe that uneducated people can provide such an efficient
service. Even people of foreign countries (like U. K., Italy etc.) are amazed that
uneducated Dabbawallas can carry out such type of business so accurately. Actually
the uneducated have an ability to memorize and retain more as opposed to the
educated who are used to writing down everything. So they claim that “our head is
our computer and Gandhi cap in the computer covers to protect it from the sun or
rain.” The white–capped, white–shirted Dabbawallas shot the limelight when they
were awarded the six sigma rating, but it was Prince Charles’ meeting with them in
Mumbai in November 2003 that really helped them. He was the first celebrity who
visited them. R. Megde said “Many people talk about us, but Prince Charles was the
first famous person who met the Dabbawalla and encouraged them Hard work and
sincerity of Dabbawallas are the two main factors to reach such levels of efficiency
with such an untrained work force. They got six sigma rating of highest operational
efficiency without using any paper work or computer.
Page | 59
Bibliography
Websites
 https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-mechanism-or-procedure-behind-Mumbai-
dabbawalas-working
 http://healthmarketinnovations.org/sites/default/files/Dabbawalas%20of%20Mumbai
.pdf
 https://hbr.org/2012/11/mumbais- models-of-service-excellence
 https://rajultrivedi.wordpress.com/tag/harvard-business-review/
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia- india-26128597
Books
 The Dabbawalas by Shrinivas Pandit
Page | 60
Annexure
1. Name
2. Marital Status
 Married
 Unmarried
3. Educational Qualification
 0
 1-5
 6-10
 11-12
 Graduate
4. For how many years have you been working as dabbawalla?
 1-5
 6-10
 11-15
 16-20
 21 & above
5. Your monthly salary
 Up to 1000
 1000-5000
 5000-10000
 10000 & above
Page | 61
6. Is your monthly salary enough to fulfil your basic needs?
 Yes
 No
7. Have you got any insurance cover from NMTBSA?
 Yes
 No
8. As per the nature of the job, have you faced any injury during your work?
 Yes
 No
9. Do you get retirement benefit from NMTBSA?
 Yes
 No
10. Other than working as dabbawalla, do you work somewhere else?
 Yes
 No
11. How do you rate working with NMTBSA?
 Very Good
 Good
 Neutral
 Bad
 Very Bad
Page | 62

A Study On Workflow of Mumbai Dabbawala by Nikhil Mani

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A Study on Workflow of Mumbai Dabbawala

They are called Shivaji Maharaja’s soldiers-“Deccan Mavle” The Annadatta’s

What is NMTBSA N -Nutan M - Mumbai T -Tiffin B -Box S -Suppliers A -

Who are the Dabawallas?

Low tech and lean:-Dabbawalla in action Although the service remains

 To examine how the Dabbawallas operate.

 To study how Dabbawallas of Mumbai perform an amazing role in procurement

a team to achieve a common goal with a cent percent accuracy.

ISO and many other certificates given to them by external agencies.

 Employee Satisfaction Survey of Dabbawalas.

 Mumbai’s Models of Service Excellance by Stefan Thomke HBR,

Charles, Richard Branson, and employees of Federal Express, a company

How can a poorly educated, decentralized workforce perform so beautifully in an

The dabbawalas have an overall system whose basic pillars—organization,

 A Study & Logistics & Supply Chain Management of Dabbawala

Dr. Pawan Agrawal elucidates supply chain system of Mumbai Dabbawala up to

Logistics spearheads are benefitted by arranging Dr. PawanAgrawal’s session for

 The Story of Mumbai Dabbawalas by Shivani Pandita:

 A Cross Cultural Study of the Literacy Practices of the

 Dabbawalas, Tiffin Carriers of Mumbai:Answering a

Principles & Discipline

Silver Coloured Cycles used by Dabbawalas

Each dabbawalas is a dabbawala is a businessman himself. Therefore, each one has

 LOCATION – In some populated areas such as RBI colonies or apartment

Nevertheless, each dabbawala earns, on an average Rs.4000-Rs 5000. He makes a

INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBER

SAFETY AND WELFARE

RULES AND POLICIES

An important feature of the dabbawalas service is customer satisfaction also the

 In the association code of ethics, no dabbawala is allowed to undercut another. As

 Each dabbawala is allowed to carry a maximum of 35 Tiffin boxes. If the number is

LIFELINE OF THE SYSTEM

1. HIGH CONFORMITY IN THE SYSTEM: The system operates in such a manner

2. BUFFER IN LEAD-TIME: The system is made with a buffer in the lead-time.

3. SYSTEM DESIGNED IN ACCORDANCE WITH HUMAN CAPABILITIES:

SIMPLICITY IN ORGANIZATION – The organizational structure is very

COORDINATION – The groups, although independent as far as money matter are

INTEGRATED WORKING – a large number of groups coordinate among

CONVENTIONAL WORKING METHODS – The working methodology of the

CUSTOMER SATIFACTION – The clients of the dabbawalas are an extremely

HIGH DEPENDABILITY ON LOCAL TRAINS – The entire dabbawala

ILLITERACY – The majority of the members of the dabbawala association can

ADVERTISING – The dabbawalas have been approached by various companies

CATERING – Considering the increasing competition from restaurants and

TEXTILE INDUSTRY SHUTDOWN

TICKET RESTAURANT THEME

Data Analysis and Interpretations

Education Qualification No. of Dabbawalas

 For how many years have you been working as a dabbawala ?

The monthly salary of 55% of the dabawalas surveyed is between 5000-10000.

 Is the monthly salary enough to fulfill daily needs?

 Have you got any Insurance cover from NMTBSA ?

 Do you get retirement benefit from NMTBSA ?

 Other than working as dabbawala, do you work somewhere else?

The Dabbawalas are getting only Rs.5000-6000 monthly.

 How do you rate your experience working with NMTBSA?

 The Dabbawalas by Shrinivas Pandit

4. For how many years have you been working as dabbawalla?

5. Your monthly salary

 10000 & above

6. Is your monthly salary enough to fulfil your basic needs?

7. Have you got any insurance cover from NMTBSA?

9. Do you get retirement benefit from NMTBSA?