Dabbawala!
Do you know about the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association which is, in simple words, a streamlined 120 years old organisation, working with the quality of six sigma standards?
Though I had heard about this logistics system some time back, I did not give much attention to learn more about it then. But yesterday when I just happened to read an article about Mumbai Dabbawalas, I was simply amazed at the quality of the work they do, discipline they show and mostly, the time consciousness and was inspired to write this post. Unless you live in Mumbai, that is, where a small army of 'dabbawalas' picks up 175,000 lunches from homes and delivers them to students, managers and workers on every working day.
After the customer leaves for work, his/her lunch is packed into a tiffin provided by the dabbawala. A color-coded notation on the handle identifies its owner and destination. Once the dabbawala has picked up the tiffin, he moves fast using a combination of bicycles, trains and his two feet and delivers the dabbas at the customer’s desk, 12.30 pm on the dot, served hot, of course. Once the lunch is over, the whole process moves into reverse and the tiffins return to suburban homes by 6.00 pm.
In the dabbawalas' elegant logistics system, using 25 kms of public transport, 10 km of footwork and involving multiple transfer points, mistakes rarely happen. "Error is horror," said a Dabbawala while explaining the operational motto. In the event of a dabbawala meeting with an accident en route, alternative arrangements are made to deliver the lunch boxes. The Dabbawala groups compete with each other, but members within a group do not. It's common sense, points out one dabbawala.
The most enduring lesson that we need to learn is to put the customer ahead of everything else. It is said that when Prince Charles expressed a desire to meet them during his visit in 2003, the Dabbawalas requested him to schedule the meeting such that it did not interfere with their mid-day delivery timings.
Their attitude of competitive collaboration is equally unusual, particularly in India. The operation process is competitive at the customers' end but united at the delivery end, ensuring their survival since a century and more. Is their business model worth replicating in the digital age is the big question.
Though I had heard about this logistics system some time back, I did not give much attention to learn more about it then. But yesterday when I just happened to read an article about Mumbai Dabbawalas, I was simply amazed at the quality of the work they do, discipline they show and mostly, the time consciousness and was inspired to write this post. Unless you live in Mumbai, that is, where a small army of 'dabbawalas' picks up 175,000 lunches from homes and delivers them to students, managers and workers on every working day.
After the customer leaves for work, his/her lunch is packed into a tiffin provided by the dabbawala. A color-coded notation on the handle identifies its owner and destination. Once the dabbawala has picked up the tiffin, he moves fast using a combination of bicycles, trains and his two feet and delivers the dabbas at the customer’s desk, 12.30 pm on the dot, served hot, of course. Once the lunch is over, the whole process moves into reverse and the tiffins return to suburban homes by 6.00 pm.
In the dabbawalas' elegant logistics system, using 25 kms of public transport, 10 km of footwork and involving multiple transfer points, mistakes rarely happen. "Error is horror," said a Dabbawala while explaining the operational motto. In the event of a dabbawala meeting with an accident en route, alternative arrangements are made to deliver the lunch boxes. The Dabbawala groups compete with each other, but members within a group do not. It's common sense, points out one dabbawala.
The most enduring lesson that we need to learn is to put the customer ahead of everything else. It is said that when Prince Charles expressed a desire to meet them during his visit in 2003, the Dabbawalas requested him to schedule the meeting such that it did not interfere with their mid-day delivery timings.
Their attitude of competitive collaboration is equally unusual, particularly in India. The operation process is competitive at the customers' end but united at the delivery end, ensuring their survival since a century and more. Is their business model worth replicating in the digital age is the big question.
