Mumbai Dabbawala: A Success Story FICCI Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi – December 22, 2009

FLO organized an interactive session with Dr. Pawan G. Agrawal, CEO, Nutan Tiffin Box Suppliers’ Charitable Trust on Mumbai Dabbawala.

Anuradha Goel, Past President, FLO welcomed the members and management students to the programme. Meera Goyal, Governing Body Member, FLO introduced the speaker and the organisation.

Mumbai Dabbawala is a hundred-year-old organization whose success has amazed supply chain management gurus around the world. Recognised internationally for their efficiency with ISO 9001-2000 and Six Sigma certifications, the organisation is operated by approximately 5,000 illiterate or semi-literate men and women (dabbawalas) who deliver and pick up nearly 2,00,000 tiffin boxes of Mumbai office workers per day, while making use of a unique coding system, simple delivery equipment and 70-80 kilometres of the city’s transit system.

Dr. Pawan Agrawal, Doctorate in Business, who has conducted numerous talks on the workings of the Mumbai Dabbawala at business organizations, corporations, universities and other such institutions at the national and the international level, during the course of the session talked about what made Mumbai Dabbawala a success. He discussed the organisation’s structure and the importance of logistics in managing an organisation. He also talked about the importance of leadership, self-motivation, self-discipline, time management, and accountability in ensuring that the organisation says robust and running.
The session ended with vote of thanks by Shipra Chatterjee, Executive Director, FLO.
Meera Goyal, Governing Body Member, FLO sponsored the event.