Logic lessons for B schools

Sometimes knowledge comes from the most unexpected quarters of the society. Sometimes B schools and marketing gurus are not the best sources to take cues for business.

The 'dabba-walas' of Mumbai have not only been giving business lessons to the needy but also helping solving complex mathematical problems! Optimization techniques and sorting procedures have been ubiquitous to the success stories of the 5000 dabba-walas of Mumbai. Dabba-walas are the lunch delivery guys in Mumbai who have operated in the city for over a hundredyears now and are an inseparable identity in Mumbai's history. They pick up the lunch boxes from homes and deliver it to the office-goers in their respective offices. They also coordinate and communicate with fellow delivery guys to create an efficient system.

They are so efficient that you might just find one mistake in 16 million lunch deliveries! The efficiency and punctuality of the tiffin carriers in the city has become the subject of study in business schools and industry associations. They have created an efficient yet simple system of coding their deliverables by marking the point of origin and destination of the lunch boxes, inlcuding the building and floor they are headed for. Look at the attached flow logic diagram. Read more on BBC. [Link]

Prince Charles has recognized this community several times during his visits to India. He was benevolent enough to invite two lunch-box carriers he met on one of his trips to attend his wedding- all expense paid. Now the 'dabba-walas' have their own website- thanks to one enterprising and kind software engineer. Read up more about them and even check out the power point presentation unraveling their business secret: mydabbawala.com Link.

No computers- no technology- no private motor vehicle- no wastage- no pollution- and no hassle- just 100% customer satisfaction! Pretty interesting huh?