The Dabbawala system in Mumbai is a unique lunch delivery service that has operated successfully for over 100 years. It has over 5,000 Dabbawalas that deliver home-cooked lunches from people's homes to their offices using a simple coding system and the Mumbai local train network. Despite low literacy among Dabbawalas and no use of modern technology, they achieve extremely high performance with over 99.99% accuracy and no strikes in their history. Their organizational structure and strategies around equitable pay, welfare funds, and competitive collaboration have allowed this system to be sustainable for over a century.

1. Dabbawala
Mumbai’s An Entrepreneurial Success Story
Presented by-
Nitesh

2. Content
2
1. Hisstory of Dabbawalas.
2. Some fact
3. Dabbawalas Organisational structure
4. Service marketing concept- Dabbawals
performance
5. Demand management constraints in
dabbawals services
6. Services marketing mix
7. Strategies adopted for sustenance.
8. Challlenges
9. Conclusion

3. History
of
Dabbawala
3
• Started in 1890 by Mahadeo Havaji Bacche
(Mahadeo), a migrant from North Maharashtra.
• Mahadeo recruited youth from the villages
neighboring Mumbai, who were involved in
agricultural work.
• Service started with about 100 Dabbawalas.
Three tier structure:
1. Executive committee
2. Mukadams
3. Dabbawalas

4. • No use of computer technology.
• Total Area Coverage: 60-70 Km.
• Incentive system with “equal pay for all”
• Easy coding scheme as the level of literacy
is not very high.
• Not even a single strike in over 100 years.
• World record in best time management.
• Name in “GUINESS BOOK of World
Records”.
4
Some Fact

5. Dabbawala’s
Organizational
structure
President Mukadamas Secretary
5
Governing Council
Dabbawalas

6. Service Marketing
Concepts
6
• Simultaneous production and consumption –
Mistakes by employees visible.
• GAPS Mode
Dabbawala Performance
• Delivering a Six Sigma performance (99.99%) =1
error in 16 million.
• Expected service - Almost no gap .
• Perceived service -Almost no gap.

7. Demand Management
Constraint in
Dabbawala’s Services
7
• Time constrain
• 3 hour cycle each day.
• Travel during peak hours.
• Equipment constraints
• Local train are the lifeline.
• Cannot expand to other cities.

8. Service
Marketing
Mix
• PRODUCT
• Delivery of dabbas from home to schools/offices.
• Meals can also be prepared as per customers preferences if required.
• PRICE
• From June 1, 2012 Standard price between Rs.500
• Rs750 per month is followed by dabbawalas throughout Mumbai 8

9. Service
Marketing
Mix
• PLACE
• Decentralized operations
• Various centers in different parts of Mumbai.
• PEOPLE
• No. of employees:5000
• Cultural similarity-all dabbawalas belong to the same community’
• No Alcohol Drinking during business hours.
• WearingWhite Cap during business hours
9

10. Service
Marketing
Mix
• PROMOTION
• Referrals from friends and relatives
• Word-of-Mouth.
• PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
• Carrying Identity Cards
• Various centers
• Dabbawalas wear Gandhi caps which make them easily identifiable.
10

11. Unique
Code
System
11
• P: Code for Dabbawala at railway station.
• BO: Borivil.
• 10: Nariman Point-destination station.
• 15/A/11: 15th building and 11th floor
p
BO
10

12. Service Marketing Mix
12
At the station , a
Mukadam sorts the
dabbas according to
their destination
and arranges the
min tray/crates.The
Dabbawalas take
their consignments
and get on the train.
The dabbawalas get
off their respective
stations where a
Mukadam re-sorts
all the dabbas and
the dabbas are
grouped according
to the area of
delivery.
The dabbawalas
take their
consignments and
deliver the dabbas
to
each client’s
office or school.
Deliveries are made
either by walking,
using a tray , or on a
bicycle
The dabbawalas
collect the dabbas
from the clients and
take them to
the nearest
railway station.
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
Process

13. Strategies
adopted for
sustenance
• Monthly meeting with the governing council to discuss various
problems.
• Established a welfare fund to give loans, help them in medical
emergencies, for educational costs, run pilgrim rest houses,
subsidize religious pilgrimages and provide facilities for important
occasion like weddings etc.
• Provision of charitable fund.
• Income was divided equally among all members after paying for
expenses like railway passes, cycles and crates.
• No age bar for working as a dabbawalla.
13

14. Challenges
14
• Increasing no. of fast food joints which
provide delivery facility.
• Organisations give food coupons to
employees.
• High dependency on local train.
• Next generation are not interested as
rewards are low.
• Low literacy in dabbawalas.
• Adverse weather conditions.

15. Achievements
• Documentaries made by :
BBC,UTV,MTV,ZEE TV,AAJTAK,TVTODAY
,SAHARA SAMAY,STAR TV,CNBSTV
18,CNN,SONY TV,TVTOKOYO, NDTV.
• World record in BestTime Management
with Six Sigma rating.
• Name in “GUINESS BOOK of World
Record”.
1
2
3
4 5 6 15

16. • In this highly technology advanced time
‘dabbawals’ 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 commitment, sense of work
ethics and unparalleled time management
system are best in place. 16
Conclusion

17. Thankyou
Question?
17