4.1 dabbawallas food delivery

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Course/ Learning Collection[A. PSS ARCHIVE & BASE KNOWLEDGE]

Learning Subject[A1.ARCHIVE OF EXISTING PSS CASES IN INDIA]

Learning Resource[Case of Dabbawallas : Sustainable Food Delivery System in Mumbai]

Contributors:[PROF.AMRIT SRINIVASAN and RADHIKA RALHAN][ IIT, Delhi ] / [ HUSS ] / [India]

[PROF.AMRIT SRINIVASAN and RADHIKA RALHAN][IIT,DELHI] / [HUSS] / [INDIA]

Learning Contents

The Dabbawalla Food Service History of the Service Working of the Delivery Service System : Coding System Modes of Transport Time Schedules, Collection, and Distribution Sustainability of this Unique Service System : Profit Planet People


The Mumbai Dabbawallas: A Sustainable Food Delivery System


The Dabbawalla Food Service

It is the Largest Network of Cooked Home Food Transportation and Deliveries operating in the city of Mumbai (State of Maharashtra), India.

This Service Includes Collection, Transportation and Delivery of Lunch Boxes from home to office in the morning and in the evening the lunch boxes are then returned.

The term Dabbawalla is referred to the person responsible in collection and delivering of freshly made food from homes to office workers. The Dabba is the “tiffin” or the “lunch box”. It is a cylindrical box made of tin or aluminum.

Each Dabbawalla is pre - assigned 30 - 35 customers in a specific

area. Dabbawallas operate in GROUPS and TEAMS (8 members), 120

groups. Interestingly, members of higher management also work at field level.


Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association

• History : Started in 1880• Charitable trust : Registered in 1956• Total area coverage : 60 Kms – 70 kms• Employee Strength : 5000• Number of Tiffin's : 2,00,000 Tiffin Boxes i.e.

4,00,000 transactions every day.

• Time taken to deliver: 3 hrs


WORKING OF THE DELIVERY SYSTEM

Coding System

Modes of Transport Used

Time Schedules, Collection, and Distribution


CODING SYSTEM The Lunch Boxes are sorted out with exclusive Codes a collection of

Numbers and Letters painted on the Dabbas. 5000 dabbawallas remember the address of 2 lakhs customers through codes.

Ensures Fast and Rapid Delivery : Immediate visual Signal to pick up the right Dabbas quickly.

Environment Friendly, Waste minimization : no involvement of paper manuals or logs for recording the codes, nor electronic gadgetry. The Codes are mostly “learnt by heart” by the dabbawallas, The Dabbas are “recyclable”.

Low cost: No costly Technological Dependency on computers or electronic devices to record or communicate these codes. This also ensures conservation of energy.

Losses and Mistakes minimized due to Complete Traceability : any Dabbawalla can pick up the missed out Dabba and deliver it to the right place due to the specific codes painted on it.


CODING SYSTEM PAINTED ON DABBA

VLP : Residential Station Code e.g. Vile Parle (suburb in Mumbai)

9 : Dabbawalla Code (At Destination Station) EX : Express Towers (Building name)

12 : Floor no.

E : Dabbawalla Code (At residential station)

3 : Destination Station Code e.g.. Churchgate Station (Nariman Point)


MODE OF TRANSPORT

LOW COST MAINTAINING BICYCLES

MOBILITY ON EXISTING RAILWAY SYSTEMS

• Inexpensive, Lowers the Operational Costs and ensures very Reasonable and Cheap Pricing of this service to the customers.

• Dabbawallas firmly believe in building services around existing infrastructure, and innovations if possible should be intervened in these existing systems.

USE OF LONG CRATES AND HAND CARTS


TIME SCHEDULES, COLLECTION & DISTRIBUTION

• The Delivery Route of the Dabbawalla is from South to North, in a Linear manner, depending on the route of the railway line

• At the origin the service is dispersed over a Larger Area and at the destination it is dispersed over a Smaller Area. This service structure aids them in covering Large Volumes of Customers, as at the Destination Level the delivery of the Dabbas is consolidated at the Floor Level of the customer location.

• The dabbawalla makes a visit to the household between 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. Household is expected to keep the lunch box ready before he arrives. If not ready the Dabbawalla leaves for the next destination. 9:30 to 10:30 are Utilized for Completing Collection of Dabbas.


Origin Railway Station 10:30 : Lunch Boxes arrive at Andheri Railway Station. The Sorting takes place outside or on railway platforms. This Utilization of Public Space, ensures no extra cost for local transport to and from any kind of office/warehouse besides saving on infrastructure. 10: 34 – 11: 20 :Travel Time in the train.

Destination Delivery Station 11:20 a.m :

Tiffins arrive at Church Gate, Group of Receiving Members Re-arrange tiffins as per the destination area building and floor.

Completion of Delivery: 12:30 By 1:15 – 2:30 p.m : Collection Process begins from the destinations the returned lunch boxes are again segregated according to the origin station. This Decentralization of Activity in the form of Area Wise Team Distribution ensures this quick and accurate delivery mechanisms. Invokes a spirit of sustainable waste management as the Dabbas are returned & Re – used.

Return To the Origin Railway Station 3:30 2: 48 – 3: 30 tiffins are back into the Train and final sorting out takes place at the origin station and the dabbas are now returned back to the homes from where they were collected in the morning.


12 coach train, 4,000 commuters



Travel Time is utilized to chat, socialize, drink tea and also organize

their tiffin boxesSustainable Recreational Activities

Invoke No additional costs and other materials

Take place within the Timeframe of work

Utilize an existing infrastructure

The Other Group which had Collected the Dabbas in the

morning now finally sort out the tiffins as per the origin area

SUSTAINABILITY OF THIS UNIQUE SERVICE SYSTEM

KEEPS THE 3 PSS AXES ALIVE

PLANET (ENVIRONMENT COMPONENT) PROFIT (ECONOMIC COMPONENT)

PEOPLE (SOCIAL COMPONENT)


COST EFECTIVE and PROFIT ORIENTED SERVICE Low Operational Cost

Cheap Maintenance Cost of Transport

Maintenance of Bicycles = Rs 300 per month Nominal Price of Railways

Value Pricing for Customers = Rs 250 per LUNCH BOX delivery per month

Still Able to Produce an Annual Turnover of Rs 30 Crores.

SUSTAINABLE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION Eco – Efficient Mode of Transport and Mobility (bicycles, hand carts) Not a Single Drop of Petrol is used Railways serves as High Frequency Mode of Service No Technological Backup hence Saves Energy Yet Maintaining Accurate Timing, No Errors and Fast Supply.


NO WASTE

Dabbas are Reused and Not Thrown away

Earlier Times Codes were painted with Thrown Away Cotton Threads

Dabbawallas are sensitive towards Waste Management

WORD OF MOUTH PUBLICITY

NO PAPER, PAMPHLETS used for PUBLCITY, ADVERTISEMENTS

Now Use WEBSITE for their Advertisements and publications

Able to maintain High Customer Volumes ; 300,000 Transactions/day

SATISFACTION BASED SERVICE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

A Dabbawalla has served one Household On an Average of 30 years.

He has Gained their Trust and achieved high Customer Satisfaction

Mainly due to an Error Free, rationalized pricing and timely delivery

system

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EFFICIENT SERVICE DESIGN NETWORK

Their Designs are service oriented but form an integrated whole with the product and consumer satisfaction – home-cooked food delivery away from home. Gives them An Appropriate Network Structure i.e. to concentrate on very small area but with large volumes and transactions and yielding high profits.

The Design involves the Use of Flexible Infrastructure and Smooth Flow of information and Material Tracking in the system.

The Service Design Structure ensures PUNCTUAL TIMINGS, SMOOTH OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY and CAPABILTIY TO HANDLE VOLUME GOODS.

PRESERVING INDIAN CUISINE

Principle of Vegetarianism in Indian Food. Vegetarian Communities such as the Jains, Saraswat Brahmins are major customers of this service.

Maintains their Consumption habits that are linked with Religion, Caste and also Hygiene values as Food enclosed in the Dabba neither touched nor Manhandled.

The Service Popularizes and Preserves Regional Ethnic Food Habits e.g. Parsi food ( Parsi Community’s cuisine is fast dying out with the small size of the community). Also Leads to the Conservation of the Culinary habits and Skills.

ENCOURAGES PRINCIPLE OF EATING TOGETHER

Propagates Collective Sitting and Eating and Sharing of food even while independent. Everyone sit and chat while having their hot homemade food together with their colleagues. The Dabba is mainly brought to a Particular Floor of the same building and mostly people from the Same Office receive their Dabbas at the Same Time •


References

• Official Site of Mumbai Dabbawallas

• www.mydabbawallas.com

• Visuals Adapted from the Official Presentation on the Website above.

• Ravichandran, N. “World Class Logistics Operations : The Case of

Bombay Dabbawallas”. Ahmedabad. Indian Institute of

Management, Vol. 09 – 01(2005) : 1 – 16.


4.1 dabbawallas food delivery

Technology