MUMBAI

DABBAWALLAS
SIX SIGMA QUALITY WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY

Content

Introduction
Motivation
Dabbawalas as Organisation
Organisational Structure
Serving Pillars
Motivation of Dabbawalas
Organisational Attributes
Competitive Advantage
Maslows Hierarchy
Social Campaigns
Conclusion and Takeaways
References

Introduction
Who are Dabbawalas?
Inception - Started about
125 years back
Current Scenario
More than 5000
Dabbawalas
Total deliveries 400,000
every day
Cost of service - Approx
Rs. 300/- month

Introduction (contd.)
Why Dabbawalas?
People leave home early
Crowded local trains
Homely food
Six sigma quality without technology

Our Motivation
Understanding
organisational framework of
Dabbawalas which is
backbone of their high
accuracy and success.

Dabbawalas as Organisation

NMTBSA - Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers

Association
Employee Strength: 5000

Avg. Literacy Rate: 8th Grade Schooling

Total Area Coverage: 60kms to 70 kms

Total Transactions: 120 million per year

Organisation Structure

Structure (contd.)
Hybrid (Organic + Mechanistic)
Everyone is a share-holder
Even the president and other high ups also work
Relatively flat with 3 levels of hierarchy
The top level management also runs the trust
The mid-level employees are responsible for planning and operations
The delivery men form the backbone of the entire organisation

Serving Pillars

Organisation: A Clockwork Design

Management: A Self-Organized Democracy

Process: Simplicity, Flexibility, and Rigor

Culture: A Strong Sense of Belonging

Organisation: A
Clockwork Design
Mumbai local train system- key to their operations
They have just 40 seconds to load the crates of dabbas
The tight schedule helps synchronize everyone and imposes
discipline

Logistic Model

Management: A Self-Organized
Democracy

Efficient management helps them to keep cost

low and QoS high
Attributes
Time management
Customer relationship management
Efficiently use the existing infrastructure

Process: Simplicity,
Flexibility and Rigor
Simple Process Color Coding
Just enough information to know
where to deliver the dabba.
No full addresses
Full addresses would slow the
sorting process, increase errors
No address, no name, but the
delivery is perfect everytime

Culture: A Strong Sense

of Belonging

Though Mumbai is a melting pot of religions, ethnicities, and dialects, dabbawalas

maintain their culture, language, values, work ethic, diet, and religious beliefs.

They have emotional bonds and a shared identity

Amy Edmondson and Richard Hackman of Harvard has shown that familiarity, bonds, and
psychological safety lead to lower error rates.

The culture emphasises managers to nurture their organisation as a closely knit

community

Organisation take care of their employees and also helps maximise productivity and
creativity

Sense of accountability at all levels is the driver of their impeccable operations

They have a collectivistic culture - If some dabbawala is absent, the other takes up his
work without any extra charge.

Simple Mission

Delivering food on time, every time.

No plans for expansion
extreme dedication to their jobs
Customer Satisfaction

Self-reinforcing System

They dont eat until they have completed all

their deliveries.
Workers are fined or fired for repeated mistakes
and negligence.
Customers are also expected to abide by the
process.
Those who are repeatedly late in having their
dabbas ready for pickup and dont respond to
warnings are dropped.

Motivation of
Dabbawalas
They believe that delivering food to office goers
is like a service to God.

Factors
Dream
Job Security
Persistence
Appreciation

Organisational
Attributes

Values
Perception
Discipline
Organisational Justice
Responsibility
Leadership

Values
They consider their work as performing Puja
No alternative to hard work
No excuses - Train running late
They dont care for recognition/certificates

Perception

Peoples perception of Dabbawalas

High trust
Example - sending salary

Employees perception about the organization

They perceive their organization as their family

Zero Attrition Rate

Discipline

Wearing white cap during business hours

Reporting to duty on time
Behave properly and respect the customers
Carry identity cards
No leave without prior notice
Penalize employees for non compliance

Organisational Justice

Every 15 days Dabbawalas have a meeting in

which disputing dabbawalas resolve their
disputes.
If they cant resolve their issues on their own the
president takes a call and they follow his
judgment without questioning.
Despite the disputes there has never been a
police or a court case.

Responsibility

Every Dabbawala is responsible for handling his

own customers
No strike
The Mumbai dabbawalas have maintained their
immaculate service and impeccable delivery
even in the harshest of times.
They know the implication of failure
Customer will stay hungry if food not delivered
Veg/N.Veg dabba is exchanged

Leadership
Mukadams (group leaders):

Responsible for resolving disputes among

dabbawalas.
Doesnt even get a rupee extra for extra 10%
that he works.
Reminds dabbawalas if train passes about to
expire.
Buys the pass if they fail to do so themselve to
ensure that timely delivery doesnt suffer.

Dabbawalas and
Competitors

Competitors include fast food chains like Pizza

Hut, Dominos, etc. and other local restaurants

"We are not afraid of more new hotels or food courts that may
come up in the future in the city"
- CEO Dabbawalas organisation (NMTBSA)

Maslows Hierarchy
Satisfies three layers of Maslows triangle

Physiological needs

Safety needs

Belonging needs*

Competitive Advantage

Social Campaigns
Dabbawalas to Promote Habit of Washing Hands
Before Eating.
Mumbai Dabbawalas launch a campaign to feed
street children.

Conclusion

Dabbawalas success is proof that with the right system in

place, ordinary workers can achieve extraordinary results.

The organisational structure used by dabbawalas hold lessons

not only for companies seeking to expand in emerging markets
but also for all developed economy enterprises.

With mere or no technical support, they managed a gamut of

activities and a burgeoning amount of customers.

Conclusion
With judicious adjustments to their four pillars, Dabbawalas

may continue to achieve six sigma quality even in the

challenging market.
Dabbawalas never felt the need to advertise or market their work as
they were recognized for their perseverance, resilience and
reliability.

Takeaways

Passion
Commitment
Hard Work
Consistency
100% Execution
Accuracy
Dedication
Time Management
Complete Customer Satisfaction

References

https://hbr.org/2012/11/mumbais-models-ofservice-excellence
http://yourstory.com/2012/03/dabbawalacustomer-service-excellence-of-six-sigmaquality-withouttechnology/
http://mumbaidabbawala.in
http://www.themarkofaleader.
com/library/stories/the-dabbawala-six-sigmasharing/
Book: Dabbawalas by Shrinivas Pandit

Thank You!