THEY HAVE no corporate strategy or MBA degree in hand, and most of them are illiterate or semi illiterate, but when it comes on work, they worktirelessly  from eight in the morning and finish their assignment by five in the evening, leaving the chances of an error as minimal as ‘one in a crore’… may be.

Yes, they are the famous Dabbawallahs (tiffin carriers) who today stand out as a classical example of managing the tiffin chain of Mumbai without any corporate strategy. Carrying food boxes from home to office and back home or even collect Tiffin’s from restaurants that provide home-cooked food.

 “Keeping the business simple is the key to success and we prefer toremain focused on just one task at one time and that has made the endeavour a subject of study and recognition,” says Manish Tripathi, the president of theassociation during an interaction with the management graduates of Lucknow’s Indian Institute of Management (IIM-L). Manish was there to address them at IIM Lucknow’s annual function Manfest-2008.

The 5000 odd work force don’t even understand the management terms like logistics, supply chain management etc. Workers are mainly from Mumbai and Pune. Very few are educated. Tripathi is one who knows English and can converse with the corporate world.

 “Delivering almost two lakh lunch boxes everyday using cycles, carts and local trains and with perfect accuracy of time without using any technology is not the easy thing but that is our only one goal,” Tripathi remarked.

 “I don’t understand terms like logistics, supply chain or time accuracy.I just know my work is to deliver lunch boxes on time, we didn’t even know the six sigma certification given to us. When we were told about it, we wondered what metal sigma was, gold or silver. “Everyone is a shareholder in the entire supply chain irrespective ofthe potential they have or the position they are in. “Way back in 1890, 35 people came together to work as Dabbawallahs and since then we have not looked back.

 “When we got a call from London that Prince Charles would like to meetus during his visit in Mumbai, we made it sure that he could meet us in Churchgate station at 11.10 am as we could not disrupt our regular operations,”Tripathi added.

 When asked how Dabbawallahs ensure that the rightbox has reached the right person, Tripathi said, “The group has a unique codingsystem, which if seen can be understood by everyone.

 The code on the lid of the box has a name and address of the intendedreceiver but since majority of Dabbawallahs are illiterate, it is not in written words and letters. There are specific codes that are followed.

 “The cost of Tiffin’s depends on the distance to be covered and theweight of the box. EveryDabbawallah makes a monthly earning of Rs 5, 000.” He however refused to disclosethe name of high-profile customers, as he said it is against our ethics.

 There is no sitting office of the association nor it has seen a strike.There is no age limit for a person to work as a Dabbawallah. TheDabbawallahs have won several prizes and awards but till date their biggest pride was when they met Prince Charles. “It was anhonour to have attended his wedding.” When asked, do you have any message for management students? He said, “Understand the ground realities and be streetsmart.” Well said.