Ms. Divya Kedia – Management Learning’s From Dabbawala
Name : Divya Kedia
Educational Qualification Completed: B.M.S.(M.L.Dahanukar College)
Current Educational Status: PGDM Finance Student (NLDIMSR)
Undertaking
I declare that the essay is the work of my own creation as part of essays competition organized by Dabbawala Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. I transfer the ownership, title and rights of this essay to Dabbawala Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. Dabbawala Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. May use this essay content in any way it deems suitable.
Name : Divya Kedia Date: 15th Aug,2024
Management Learning’s from Dabbawala
The Mumbai Dabbawalas form an organization which is unique to Mumbai. The Dabbawala association first took shape about 125 years ago in Mumbai when a Parsi banker wanted to have home cooked food in office. Taking up this opportunity and banking on the idea of delivering dabbas with home-cooked food Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started the lunch delivery service with 100 dabbawalas in its colour coded and number coded delivery format which is used upto this day. The dabbawalas always deliver the food on time whether it is rain or sunshine.
In the 21st century, the dabbawala service has not only become iconic but also has become synonymous with hardwork, dedication, healthy – hygienic food and most importantly high accuracy of food delivery. The dabbawalas have a six sigma rating and have been the subjects of numerous case studies both nationally and internationally. All this is thanks to their unique and ingenious way of coding their dabbas(tiffins) using a simple combination of colour coding and alphanumeric codes. These codes indicate the collection point, the trains to be taken and the final destination of the tiffin. This system is extremely successful and accurate with an error rate of just one in sixteen million (1 in 16 million).
The dabbawalas have won many laurels and continue to teach us various management lessons. Over the years they have become subjects of multiple case studies and researches from all around the world. The success and simplicity of the dabbawala system teaches us about efficient logistics and how exactly does an organization with a flat management structure work.
Today however this association of dabbawalas faces numerous challenges. Originally the profession was passed on from father to son and continued for generations. Since, this profession is not very lucrative the future generations do not want to continue the profession and want to take up better and more lucrative career options. In this, age of digitization and quick commerce the dabbawalas face intense competition from food delivery apps such as Zomato & Swiggy and instant delivery apps like Uncle Delivery & Dunzo. In today’s fast paced, hectic and busy city life where both men and women are working, people barely have the time to cook at home and thus, they prefer eating outside or eating in their office or college canteens.
Every lock in the world has a key and all challenges have solutions. To fight and stay alive in today’s competitive business scenario the dabbawalas need to adapt and digitize themselves. The dabbawala association can start off by developing a mobile application (Mobile App) and taking tiffin/dabba delivery orders through the app. Providing duration or period based – weekly, fortnightly, monthly, yearly and distance based subscriptions will help the business grow. Further, they must expand their target audience by catering to office goers, students, shopkeepers, stand-alone businesses and industrial or commercial business complexes. They must also target their audience on geographical basis by focusing on localities with clusters of offices and industrial parks for instance, Powai and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). Lastly, they can follow a CityFlo (App based AC bus service for office commute) like model where, a conventional service is offered or made available through technology. The CityFlo bus service is able to operate, sustain and co-exist with public players like BEST bus (provided by the government) and other private players. This is due to application of simple technology and customer friendly service.
Hence, the dabbawalas can also digitize and use simple technology to build their business and provide a conventional and customer friendly service.
