Author Topic: Pride of Mumbai - Dabbawalas (Read 24705 times)

SonnenKinder · « **on:** February 26, 2010, 08:05:12 PM »

Hungry? What would you like: pizza from the local Domino's (30 minute delivery) or a fresh, hot meal from home? Most managers don't have a choice. It's either a packed lunch or junk food grabbed from a fast food outlet. Unless you live in Mumbai, that is, where a small army of 'dabbawalas' picks up 200,000 lunches from homes and delivers them to harried students, managers and workers on every working day. At your desk. 12.30 pm on the dot. Served hot, of course. And now you can even order through the Internet.

After the customer leaves for work, his/her lunch is packed into a tiffin provided by the dabbawala. A color-coded notation on the handle identifies its owner and destination. Once the dabbawala has picked up the tiffin, he moves fast using a combination of bicycles, trains and his two feet.

A BBC crew filming dabbawalas in action was amazed at their speed. "Following our dabbawala wasn't easy, our film crew quickly lost him in the congestion of the train station. At Victoria Terminus we found other fast moving dabbawalas, but not our subject... and at Mr Bhapat's ayurvedic pharmacy, the lunch had arrived long before the film crew," the documentary noted wryly. So, how do they work so efficiently?

Amazing? :mean: No? Okie, Read and Decide it yourself /:)

What is NMTBSA?

Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association

ABOUT NMTBSA

• 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 -i.e 4,00,000 transactions every day.
• Time taken :3hrs

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

DISCIPLINES :

• No Alcohol Drinking during business hours
• Wearing White Cap during business hours
• Carry Identity Cards

STARTING JOURNEY:

10:34-11:20 am (Andheri Stn.)

• 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.

"12 coach train 4,000 commuters 8,000 disputes But no excuses, Duty first"

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 area 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!

• 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!

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.

2:00 –2:30 pm (At Destination Station)

• The dabbawalla’s meet for the segregation as per the destination suburb.

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

• Usually, since it is more of a pleasant journey compared to the earlier part of the day, the dabbawalas lighten up the moment with merry making, joking around and singing.

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.

Awards and Felicitation

• Shri.VarkariPrabhodhanMahasmatiDindi(palkhi) sohala–4thmarch –2001.
• 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 –
• ICFAI Press Hyderabad
• Richard Ivey School of Business -Ontarion
• 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

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. Prince Charles of England on 9 , April 2005.

Some Achievements

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

After all... it is the pride of MUMBAI to have Dabbawallas culture in its part since so long... Let us wish All The Best for their Future.

Author Topic: Pride of Mumbai - Dabbawalas (Read 24705 times)

SonnenKinder

Pride of Mumbai - Dabbawalas

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