dabbawala logistic system six sigma quality control

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DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL
MANAGEMENT
TERM ASSIGNMENT 2014-15
PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
FYMBA- SEM-II
SECTION-A
TOPIC: A CASE STUDY ON DABBAWALA SYSTEM OF MUMBAI
BY,
09: PRAKHAR BHUSHAN
16: CHAWLA DIVYA
22: GANDHI SANI
23: GANDHI VIRAL
SUBMITTED ON-15th APRIL,201
SUBMITTED TO – DR. HITESH SOLANKI

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DABBAWALAS CASE STUDY
(A case about logistics)
What are the main learning of the case?
 The dabbawalas carry tiffin for the employees which contains two main committees of the
contractors who run the business from the case we can learn why the tiffin carrying service
has been successful in Mumbai.
Following are learning of case
• Understanding the logistical systemthat can survive due to the culture in various places.
• How can human resource management used in this field?
• Flat hierarchy of the dabbawalas and how well they deliver the services.
• How the food is delivered and what are the other things involved in tis service.
History and Introduction to Dabbawala
What is NMTBSA? (Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association)
History :
Started in 1890
Charitable trust Registered in 1956
Avg. Literacy Rate 8thGrade Schooling
Total area coverage 60 Kms to 70Kms
Employee Strength 5000
Number of Tiffin's 2,00,000Tiffin Boxes
Daily Transactions 4, 00,000 transactions every day.
Time taken 3hrs
One basket weight 75-80 kilograms

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Working of NMTBSA
 Error Rate : 1 in 16 million transactions
 Six Sigma performance (99.999999)
 Technological Backup : Nil.
 Cost of service -Rs. 300/month ($ 6.00/month)
 Standard price for all (Weight, Distance, Space)
 Rs. 36 Cr. Turnover approx. [6000*12*5000=360000000 i.e Rs. 36 crore p.a.]
 “No strike” record as each one a share holder
 Earnings -5000 to 6000 p.m.
 Diwali bonus: one month’s from customers.
What team and inter-team processes are reflected in the operation of the
dabbawala system?
 The essence of this whole system is the trust that is there between the employees and the
contractors
 There are two commitees:
o The Mandal committee
o The Trust committee
It is mostly flat hierarchy
 5000 workers called carriers
 800 supervisors
 11 members in the mandal committee
 In total there are 5800 members in this system
The inter team process is between the carriers and the delivery address:
 Carrier will pick up tiffin at 10 am labels the essentials about where it is to be reaches
 Special carriers are those who take up area wise service

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 All the tiffins are taken to the railway station where another carrier arranges them and
puts them on a 2.5 m long wooden cart carrying up to 40 tiffins at a time
 After that he ascends the train and reaches specific destinations where another carrier
collects them at different places
 This carrier who picks up the tiffin will deliver it to the office of the customer
 The tiffinns are collected later and the same chain is repeated backwards
So diagrammatically ….
churchgate
16
point of
agrregation
of tiffions
point A Point B
Home 1 Home 2 Home 3
Point c
Grant Road
( 1-12)
lower parel
5
1
2
1 2 3 etc are zonesfor
distributionandfromthat
point,everyofficesare
served

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Explanation How dabbawala’s work? (Supply Chain Of Dabbaawala’)
Phase 1
 10:34-11:20 am (Andheri Station)
 This time period is actually the journey time. 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.
Phase 2
 11:20 –12:30 pm(Church Gate Station)
 At this stage, the unloading takes place at the destination station
 Re-arrangement of tiffins takes place as per the destination are and destination building.
 In particular areas with high density of customers (NarimanPt.,Fort , CST), a special crate
is dedicated to the area. This crate carries 150 tiffins and is driven by 3-4 dabbawalas!
Phase 3
 Return Journey
 1:15 –2:00 pm( At All Destination Stations)
 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.
Phase 4
 2:00 –2:30 pm (At Destination Station)
 The dabbawalla’s meet for the segregation as per the destination suburb.
Phase 5
 2:48 –3:30 pm
 The return journey by train where the group finally meets up after the day’s routine of
dispatching and collecting from various destination offices

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 Usually, since it is more of a pleasant journey compared to the earlier part of the day,
the dabbawal as lighten up the moment with merry making, joking around and singing.
Phase 6
 3:30 –4:00 pm ( The Origin Station)
 This is the stage where the final sorting and dispatch takes place. The group meets up at
origin station and they finally sort out the tiffins as per the origin area.
Coding done by dabbawala’s
Lunch boxes are usually marked in several ways:
1. abbreviations for collection points
2. colour code for starting station,
3. Number for destination station and
4. markings for handling dabbawala at destination, building and floor. The dabbawalas have
started to embrace technology, and now allow for delivery requests through SMS. A colour-
coding systemidentifies the destination and recipient.
For Example:
VLP: Vile Parle (suburb in Mumbai),
9EX12: Code for Dabbawalas at Destination
EX: Express Towers (building name),
12: Floor no. E: Code for Dabbawala at residential station,
3: Code for destination Station eg. Churchgate Station (Nariman Point).
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE& WORKING STYLE:
 The Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Charity Trust had a very flat structure with only
three levels, the Governing Council, the Mukadams and the Dabbawalas. From the
Governing Council, a president, a vice president, a general secretary, a treasure & directors
were elected. The Governing Council held meetings once a month which were attended by
the Mukadams (Supervisers) and Dabbawalas. At these meetings, the Dabbawalas discussed

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their problems and explored possible solutions. The problems could be with the police,
Municipal Corporation, customers, etc. They also adjudicated disputes among Dabbawalas
using their own system. The Trust collected Rs.15 from each Dabbawala every month to
maintain a welfare fund.
Organisational Structure
From the above Introduction and details we can have following
discussions:
1. SWOT analysis
STRENGTHS:
 100% Achievements in-
o Teamwork, discipline, honesty
president
vice president
general secretary
treasurer
directors
directors ( 9)
mukadams
members (5000)

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o Time management
o Ownership & Pride in work
o Customer satisfaction
o Low operational cost, process consistency
o Service delivery of six sigma
o Service commitment (No strike since inception)
o Satisfaction of team member (due to low attrition)
o Full proof delivery model through colour coding
o Financial independence.
o Just in time approach
 0 % dependence upon-
o Fuel in last mile service delivery
o Technology related process complexities
o Investment
o Documentation
WEAKNESS:
 Highly dependent on Mumbai local trains
 Limited fund flow of the association limits the governing body to implement welfare
schemes
 Limited Access to Education, limit diversification of members to other business jobs
OPPORTUNITY:
 Tie up with caterers to serve variety of meals i.e. diet food, Chinese/continental food,
food for fasting
 Opportunity on the expansion of services on the routes of Mumbai metro & BRTS
 Generating revenue by promotion of other brands
 Expanding networks in other cities
 Booking of service through internet & SMS (Recently started – needs to be popularized)
THREAT:
 Threats from fast food joints & small restaurants

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 Flexi – timing work from home culture
 Food courts at mall mega structures
 Catering services offering tiffin services
 Paper food vouchers & smart cards i.e. food plus by HDFC
 COMPETITORS:
o The major competitors of Mumbai dabbawala are Magic-o-meal, Food plus by
HDFC, Fast Food chains, restaurants, road-side vendors, Udipi chain, food box
etc.
o Competition is different here no manufacturing, only distribution.
2. What factors made Dabbawala system successful
A. SIX SIGMA PERFORMANCE: 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. 6- Sigma refers to a quality
improvement and business strategy concept started by Motorola in the United States in
1987. In statistical terms, 6-Sigma is the abbreviated form of 6 standard deviations from the
mean, which mathematically translates to about 3.4 defects per million.
B. Uninterrupted services: The service is almost always uninterrupted, even on the days of
severe weather such as monsoons. The local dabbawalas and population know each other
well and often form bonds of trust. Dabbawalas are generally well accustomed to the local
areas they cater to, and use shortcuts and other low profile routes to deliver their goods on
time. Since 1890, when the dabbawalas formally came into existence, none of them had
ever gone on strike until 2011 when the members decided to head towards Azad Maidan to
support Anna Hazare in his campaign against corruption.
C. No over-reliance on technology. Sure, the dabbawalas are now using Web technology and
SMS for orders, but for the most part this is a fairly low-tech operation. It relies on trains
and barefoot men. No computer chips. No social networks. Just guys busting their humps
and a reliable train service. The lesson for organizations? Don’t expect technology to solve
your issues — usually the issue has more to do with process, execution and expectations
than it does bits and bytes.

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D. Create an integrated performance chain. In other words, the dabbawala system keeps its
eye on the sum — not the individual parts. When you boil it down to simple terms, a
performance chain is really just a system of moving pieces. Focus too much on those
individual pieces and you get hung up in the details and, as a result, are less efficient.
Concentrate on the entire system and flow of products and information and you have a
much better chance of success.
E. Acute visibility. The beauty of the dabbawala-based system is that all of the dabbawalas
understand exactly what is happening and when — to the minute. If certain deadlines and
hand-offs are missed, people don’t eat. It’s as simple as that. Make sure everyone within
your chain understands what he or she needs to do, where they need to be and what needs
to happen for the chain to be successful.
F. Keep it simple. Real simple. One of the key lessons any organization can learn from the
dabbawalas is the simplicity with which this system works. The dabbawalas are intimately
aware of what their customers value (food delivered on time, every day). And, just as
importantly, they don’t try to do anything other than that. They don’t overcomplicate
things. They don’t add extraneous value. They simply understand what their customers
want, and they focus 100 percent of their time and energy on meeting that need.
G. Low cost delivery
o Rs. 150 -200
H. Delivery reliability
o Entrepreneurs, not employees
o No strikes
o Flat structure
o Referrals from friends and relatives
o No dilution of service culture
I. Decentralization
J. Appropriate coding system
K. Perceived equality
o Effort different, same remuneration

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o Equal remuneration to all.
L. Suburban Railway Network-Food line of the city
o It leads to transport economies.
M. Other factors:
o Zero % fuel
o Zero % investment
o Zero % modern technology
o Zero % Disputes
o 99.9999% performance
o 100 % Customer Satisfaction
CONCLUSION:
In this highly technologically advanced time ‘dabbawalas’ are working absolutely without
technology. They have an excellent supply chain, despite the fact that they don’t even know
what it means. Most of the people working with them are semi-literate but still they read the
tiffin code correctly and deliver it. Their attitude of competitive collaboration is equally unusual,
particularly in India. Their excellent sense of deep commitment, sense of work ethics and
unparalleled time management systemare best in place.

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2. http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=38410
3. http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com › Collections › Mumbai