Just a thought....

1. SuperDabbawalaUberLogistics
Now, say it 10-times fast.
There we were, 5 non-traditional, well-aged, long-toothed students, aspiring supply
chain management professionals ‘studying' at the local watering hole in Elmhurst,
Illinois ( the heart of the good old’ U.S. of A.). I have to mention it was a Monday
night during winter and football was the distraction over your left shoulder and in-
between was the mind-numbing celebratory song without words that blared each
time the Blackhawks scored yet another goal.
‘Another round, fellas’, asked the equally mature yet increasingly more attractive as-
the-night-wore-on-bartender asked? We were debating our choice of project topics
and were going to vote on if we could base our supply chain class assignment on the
absolute genius of the lunch delivery system in Mumbai into a legitimate group
project worthy of an ‘A’ grade at the Master’s level.
Heck, none of us had ever been to India at that point in our careers. I’m not sure if
any of us even enjoyed India food for that matter. Little did we know before diving
in how precise and effective the Dabbawala1
What is important to know, that circa 1890, Mahadeo Havaji Bachche, effectively
began the organization that arguably reached Lean Six Sigma status (1.9 errors per
billion operations). The Dabbawallahs in Mumbai delivered homemade lunches in
tin boxes by bike and train to workers across the entire city. In 2014 it is estimated
they deliver between 175,000 and 200,000 lunch boxes (tiffin) daily by 4,500 to
5,000 Dabbawalas.
Now that leads you to my question; you can ignore my side story and feeble attempt
to add a little humor. Ask yourself? How much further can the shared-economy
grow? Is there a vehicle for utilizing consumers and commuters alike to become a
formidable, viable cog in the supply chain wheel? Or better said last link?
How much further can we go along with the trends in e-commerce? We are evolving.
We are becoming more involved in the commerce of supply chain and
transportation than any other point in history. No longer are we, passive consumers.
We are already ordering to store to pickup ourselves. How many times did you
agree to go to the next closest store to pick up an out of stock item? How far are we
willing to go in this ‘got to have it' culture we live in now? Why not become a truck
driver, van delivery guy (girl), bike messenger or neighborhood distribution center?
Today’s consumer behavior makes the Sears Wishbook and other gargantuan mail-
order catalogs and the telephone sound pre-historic, almost laughable. Thank
1 system was at the time.
http://mumbaidabbawala.in/about-us/

2. goodness for e-Commerce! My guess is that telephones, PCs, and laptops will suffer
the same slow death as print newspapers.
The power to buy, sell or share goods and services (keep it clean) is already in the
palm of your hands, aka smartphone. Single moms, retirees, even the affluent
hustler can become super taxis with the swipe of one’s finger with the right car,
some documentation, and no qualms about who get's in your car via unique
technology that matches rider and driver.
Then we must ask, is it the drone, your Uber guy, the Grub Hub delivery person or
their inventors that will revolutionize perhaps redefine the traditional aspects of
supply chain.
Can we dust off the terms and redefine the final mile delivery forever? What about
‘milk run’ or stop-offs for store or home? Or simply accept the definitions literally?
For example, we could re-write the definition in Wikipedia to say:
A milk run, in life, to mean when a member of the household is going for a gallon of
milk and makes a round trip that facilitates either distribution or collection of goods,
lunch, passengers or any combination thereof.
So it begs the question, why not Uber? How about a 12-year old flying a drone to
deliver newspapers or Grandma picking up a dress from Macy’s, sushi and taking a
passenger en route to Thursday night bingo?
What will revolutionize supply chain? Are we 10 years away? 20? Sooner? Happening
already? Is it existing or new technology that will pave the way? Or will someone find a
way to tie technology to our normal walks of life to make a delivery, pick up an order?
Since we have to pick up the milk on the way home, why not make a few bucks in the
process?
What is the next best thing since slice bread? What’s next?
Gerald Cross has over twenty-five years experience in the global freight forwarding /
supply chain management, including senior roles in 3PL operations and 4PL programs.
The incidental references and likeness to my Supply Chain cohort at Elmhurst College
and the bartender were intentional. They'll understand. I believe we 'Aced' the
Dabbawallah project.