International motivational speaker and former CEO of Mumbai Dabbawallas, Dr Pawan Agrawal, shared the success story of Dabbawalas, Mumbai’s tiffin delivery empire, at a programme

held in the Capital. In the interactive event, sponsored by Ace International Business School and organised by HVPP, Dr Pawan also provided the

young audience with tips about establishing businesses and achieving success in life.

“The story of Dabbawalas is an extraordinary source of learning. It may be surprising that from something as small as delivering tiffin boxes you can learn so many things. Dabbawalas commitment to the work and their dedication to their customers show optimum level of professionalism from people who are mostly illiterate,” said Bijaya Timilsina, the principal of Ace Business School, at the event. “Today people are always complaining about the lack of resources, so we wanted to share the story of Dabbawalas, who despite having very limited resources are providing world-class service,” he further added.

Mumbai Dabbawalas which started as a one-man business 125 years ago now provides employment to 5,000 people and delivers 200,000 tiffins boxes every day. The organisation has been recognised all over the world for their passion, dedication and accuracy in delivering exemplary service to their customers.

“Dabbawalas are not just delivery persons in Mumbai, they are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They not just deliver lunch to their clients, but happiness and satisfaction too,” said Dr Pawan. Due to chocking traffic and long commutes, many people leave their home as early as 6 am in Mumbai. The dabbawalas, in turn, go pick-up their client’s lunch boxes and travel as long far as 70 kilometers ensuring the food is delivered by lunch time.

“Dabbawalas feel very blessed that they can provide this service to their customers. For them their work is the most important, and the process is quite complicated, given how many clients they serve every day,” added Dr Pawan.

 Dr Pawan also said, “With no strike or police records since their establishment in 1890, dabbawalas are the master of logistics supply chain. They never make errors while delivering. The error rate is one in sixteen million deliveries. Due to their immense commitment to their customers, they have been recongised all over the world and have received many awards. But if you ask any dabbawalas what their best moment is then their answer is always the satisfaction they see when they return the empty tiffin to the family of their customers.” He believes their attitude and approach towards their work is the reason that dabbawalas are so successful.

The organisation is now also involved in a slew of social work ranging from providing computer education for the dabbawallas, free education for their children and serving leftover tiffins to over 130 street children in Mumbai.

The sold-out event was attended by hundreds of students, aspiring entrepreneurs and educators.