1. Mumbai’s
Dabbawala Service
Mumbai’s Annadatas

2. » President- Mr. Raghunath Dhondiba Medge
» Secretary- Mr. Gangaram Laksman Talekar
» Director(IT)- Mr. Manish Tripathi
Website: www.mydabbawala.com
E- Mail : info@mydabbawala.com

3. WHAT IS NMTBSA????
N -Nutan
M -Mumbai
T -Tiffin
B -Box
S -Suppliers
A -Association

4. • History : Started in 1890
• Started in 1890
•
• Charitable trust : Registered in 1956
Mahadeo Havaji Bacche (Mahadeo), a migrant from North Maharashtra,
• Avg. Literacy Rate : 8th Grade Schooling
started the lunch delivery service.
• Mahadeo recruited youth from the villages neighboring Mumbai, who were
• Total area coverage: 60 Kms to 70 Kms
involved in agricultural work
• Service started with about 100 Dabbawalas
• Employee Strength : 5000
• Number of Tiffin's : 2,00,000 Tiffin Boxes
i.e 4,00,000 transactions every day.
• Time taken : 3 hrs

5. • Mahadeo Havaji Bacche (Mahadeo), a
migrant from North Maharashtra, started
the lunch delivery service.
• Mahadeo recruited youth from the villages
neighboring Mumbai, who were involved in
agricultural work
• Service started with about 100
Dabbawalas

6. PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
13 Members
GENERAL SECRETARY
TREASURES
DIRECTORS(9)
MUKADAM
MEMBERS(5000)

7. Our Belief
WORK IS WORSHIP
Tiffin basket’s weight:
75-80 kgs.

8. 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.

9. Case Study: NMTBSA
Tiffin Box Suppliers Association
How do they do it …?
Executive Committee
(5 members)
• Organizational
Structure Teams of 20-25 headed by
a group leader
• Operations
• The Code Individual dabbawallahs workload:
Collect from home – 35 tiffins
• War against Time Delivery at office – 35 tiffins
Return empty tiffins to home – 35 tiffins
(9:00 am – 12:30 pm)

10. APPROACH
DISCIPLINES :
• No Alcohol Drinking during business hours
• Wearing White Cap during business hours
• Carry Identity Cards
WOMEN:
• Mrs. Bhikhubai of Kandivali
• Mrs. Anandibai of Borivali
• Mrs. Parvatabai of Karale (Ghatkopar)
• Mrs. Laxmibai Bagade of Santa Cruz
LATEST MARKETING STRATEGY:
Marketing pamphlets in the “Dabba”

11. Zero % fuel Zero % investment
Zero % modern technology Zero % Disputes
99.9999% performance 100 % Customer Satisfaction

12. PORTERS FIVE FORCE THEORY
• Competition: Its difficult to replicate their
supply chain network
• New entrants: Fast food joints as well as
office canteens. However, since neither of
these serve home food, the dabbawallas'
core offering remains unchallenged.
• Bargaining power of buyers: Delivery
rates are so nominal (about Rs 300 per
month) that one simply wouldn't bargain any
further.
• Bargaining power of sellers: minimum
infrastructure and practically no technology
is used, hence they are not
dependent on suppliers.
• Threat of a new substitute product or
service: No substitutes to home cooked
food in Indian scenario, hence threat to the
dabbawalla service is not an issue at least
in the foreseeable future.

13. SWOT Analysis
• Strengths:
• Simplicity in organization with Innovative service
• Coordination, team spirit, & time management
• Low operation cost
• Customer satisfaction
• Low Attrition Rate
• Weaknesses:
• High dependability on
local trains
• Funds for the association
• Limited Access to Education

14. • Opportunities
• Wide range publicity
• Operational cost is low
• Catering
• Threats
• Indirect competition is being faced from caterers like maharaja community
• Indirect threats from fast foods and hotels
• Change in timings
• Company transport
• Ticket restaurant

15. HOW THE DABBA IS DELIVERED
 The entire system depends on TEAM-WORK
and meticulous timing.
 Tiffins are Collected from homes & taken to
nearest Railway Station.
 Then they are Sorted out for area-wise
distributiuon.
 A tiffin takes hand changes from3 to 4
Times in the course of its daily journey .

16. The Color Coding of Dabbas
The color coded on Dabbas can be
Read in following pattern:

17. Coding System
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 D’souza
Station (Nariman Point)

18. The Flow Logic
Zones for destination
Grant Road 1
(12) 2
Point of 3
Aggregation Churchgate 4
And Sorting (1-10)
5
A E
6
Lower Parel
B D 7
C (14)
Distribution
By Carriers
Collection from home at lunchtime
To offices

19. CODING OF DABBAS
1-11 CHURCHGATE
12 MARINE LINES
13 GRANT ROAD, BOMBAY
CENTRAL
15 LOWER PAREL
16 DADAR (WEST)
17 DADAR (EAST)
18 ANDHERI (EAST, WEST)

20. • 10:34-11:20 am
(Andher i St n.)
• This t ime per iod is
act ually t he
j our ney t ime. The
dabbawalas load
t he wooden cr at es
f illed wit h t if f ins
ont o t he luggage or
goods compar t ment
in t he t r ain.
Gener ally, t hey
choose t o occupy
t he last
compar t ment of
t he t r12 coach train
ain.
4,000 commuters
8,000 disputes
But no excuses,
Duty first

21. • 11: 20 – 12: 30 pm
(Church Gate Station)
• At t his st age, t he
unloading t akes place
at t he dest inat ion
st at ion
• Re-ar r angement of
t if f ins t akes place as
per t he dest inat ion
ar ea and dest inat ion
building

22. • I n par t icular
ar eas wit h high
densit y of
cust omer s
(Nar iman Pt .,For t
, CST), a special
cr at e is
dedicat ed t o t he
ar ea. This cr at e
car r ies 150
t if f ins and is
dr iven by 3-4
dabbawalas!

23. RETURN JOURNEY:
• 1:15 – 2:00 pm ( At All Dest inat ion
St at ions)
Her e on begins t he collect ion pr ocess wher e t he
dabbawalas have t o pick up t he t if f ins f r om
t he of f ices wher e t hey had deliver ed almost
an hour ago.

24. • 2:00 – 2:30 pm (At Dest inat ion St at ion)
• The dabbawalla’s meet f or t he segr egat ion as per
t he dest inat ion subur b.

25. • 2:48 – 3:30 pm
• The r et ur n j our ney by
t r ain wher e t he gr oup
f inally meet s up af t er
t he day’s r out ine of
dispat ching and
collect ing f r om var ious
dest inat ion of f ices
• Usually, since it is mor e
of a pleasant j our ney
compar ed t o t he ear lier
par t of t he day, t he
dabbawalas light en up
t he moment wit h merry
making, joking around
and singing.

26. • 3:30 – 4:00 pm
( The Or igin St at ion)
• This is t he st age
wher e t he f inal
sor t ing and dispat ch
t akes place. The
gr oup meet s up at
or igin st at ion and
t hey f inally sor t out
t he t if f ins as per
t he or igin ar ea

27. Some Facts of Dabbawal’s SCM
• 2003: 5000 recruits, 175, 000 clients
• 350,000 deliveries
• 75 kms of public transport
• Failure: once in two months, one in 15
million
• Rs 380 million per annum

28. Distribution Network
• Baton relay system
• Hub and spoke arrangement
• No historical, theoretical legacy in the design
• No use of computer technology
• Coding system
– Decentralized at the group level
• Workday schedule
• 30-35 deliveries (manageable)
• Sorting, loading and unloading at peak rush hours
• 4 handlings of a dabba in a day- coding essential

29. Royal wedding was heavenly, say dabbawalas

30. Their Achievements
Documentaries made by :
• BBC ,UTV, MTV, ZEE TV, AAJ TAK, TV TODAY, SAHARA SAMAY, STAR TV, CNBC TV 18,
CNN, SONY TV, TV TOKYO, NDTV.
CASE STUDY made by :
• ICFAI Press Hyderabad & Bangalore
• Richard Ivey School of Business – Canada
• Also, Included in a subject in Graduate School of Journalism University of California, Berkeley
Invitations from :
• CII for conference held in Bangalore, IIML, IIMA, CII Cochin, CII Delhi, Dr. Reddy’s Lab
Foundation Hyderabad, SCMHRD Pune, SCMHRD Nasik, Sadahana – Pune, Rotary Club –
Bangalore, NIQR at Chennai
Radio:
• German Radio Network, Radio Mirchi, Radio Mid-day, FM – Gold, BBC Radio, Radio City

31. Others:
 World record in Best Time
Management with Six Sigma rating.
 Name in “GUINESS BOOK of World
Records”.
 Registered with Ripley's “ believe it or not”.
 Participated in “Deal Ya No Deal Contest” by Sony
Entertainment Television
 Invited for marriage of Hon. Prince Charles of England
on 9th April, 2005

33. Letter from
PRINCE CHARLES

34. Awards and Felicitation (contd.)
• Invitation from CII for conference held in Bangalore,
IIML, IIMA, CII Cochin, CII Delhi, Dr. Reddy’s Lab
Foundation Hyderabad, SCMHRD Pune, SCMHRD
Nasik, Sadahana – Poone.
• Included in a subject in Graduate School of
Journalism University of California, Berkeley.
• Radio –
• German Radio Network
• Radio Mirchi
• Radio Mid-day
• FM – Gold
• BBC Radio

35. Invitation to Italy
• Was invited for the Terra Madre World
meeting of food communities between
October 20-23, 2004.
• We were part of the “Community of
Cooked Food distributors from
Mumbai”.
• Invited to marriage of Hon. Price
Charles of England on 9 , April 2005.

36. MBA students seeking help for their projects and case studies

37. Some Achievements
• World record in best time management.
• Name in “GUINESS BOOK of World
Records”.
• Registered with Ripley's “ believe it or
not”.

38. Ph.D. on Mumbai Dabbawala
By
Principal Pawan G. Agrawal
M.Com., B.Ed., LL.B., A.C.S.
Director
AGRAWAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
Mumbai
Topic : Study of Logistic & Supply Chain
Management of Dabbawala in Mumbai.
University : Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta
Vidyapeeth, Nashik.
Research Work : Doing since last One and Half Year.
Guide : Dr. Kulkarni, Nashik.

39. THANK YOU