Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Research in Transportation Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/retrec Mumbai lunch box delivery system: A transferable benchmark in urban logistics? Deepak Baindur a, *, Rosário M. Macário b,1 a b Faculty of Planning and Public Policy, CEPT University, Kasturbhai Lalbhai Campus, University Road, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009, India Departamento de Engenharia Civil e Arquitectura, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Available online 5 July 2012 This paper presents findings of a freight transport study carried out for Mumbai city (India). Based on the case study of lunch box delivery system organized by the Mumbai dabbawalas, demonstrated that an informal sector was capable of developing an urban logistics system that was precise, reliable and affordable to the middle class society in Mumbai. These facts suggest an approach based on adapting logistics solutions harmoniously to the urban landscape, public policy, infrastructure and skill sets of the company’s employees in order to be attractive to the end customer, offering a good match between supply and demand i.e., consumer and producer satisfaction. At the same time logistics solutions should evolve continuously in order to be attractive to the core customer base and should be customer driven. These basic management principles can be applied in the management of other urban logistics companies in the world over. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Urban logistics Lunch box delivery Public transport Freight 1. Introduction Urban freight is more polluting than long-distance freight transport owing to the frequency of short trips and stops. Fuel consumption increases sharply if the vehicle has to stop very often: with five stops in 10 km, fuel consumption increases by 140% (Martensson, 2005). Thus to make urban mobility more sustainable measures to reduce the environmental impact of freight transport have been identified to be critical. The measures implemented by cities to alleviate the negative effects of freight transport have often proved ineffective. Various urban freight transport policy measures implemented and their impact on reducing congestion and environment have been carried out by two large European projects, BESTUFS I (2005) and BESTUFS II (2008). The projects have found that many measures still fail to solve the problems for which they were implemented. A new research project TURBLOG-WW2 looked into the different solutions for urban freight with a business model * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 79 2630 2740/2470x138; fax: þ91 79 2630 2075. E-mail addresses: baindurdeepak@gmail.com (D. Baindur), rosariomacario@ civil.ist.utl.pt (R.M. Macário). 1 Tel.: þ351 21 841 8417; fax: þ351 21 849 7650. 2 The “TURBLOG-WW, Transferability of urban logistics concepts and practices from a worldwide perspective”, was developed in the framework of the 7FP program of the European Commission under the coordination of Prof Rosário Macário in her consulting company TIS.PT, Consultores em Transportes, Inovação e Sistemas. s.a. The current case was included in this project as a case study within the deliverable D3.9. 0739-8859/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2012.05.002 perspective aiming to obtain insight information on how policy can come in support of business development. This paper aims to demonstrate how an indigenously developed logistics system can adapt its operations to the urban space, infrastructure and resources to develop as a best practice in urban logistics. The existence and success of this urban logistics system for more than 100 years has demonstrated resilience in its business model and strategy that ensures highest productivity at least capital costs. The paper presents the findings of a case study of the Mumbai Lunch box delivery system. In the first section, the paper presents an overview of the city context in which the logistics system works. Here, a review of the Mumbai’s urban landscape, city development and urban freight policies are discussed. In the second section, the operations and organizational structure of the Lunch box delivery system in Mumbai is analyzed. In the third section, the paper evaluates operational strategies that can have potential transferability to urban logistics services industry. The case study can also contribute in identifying key freight policies to promote similar initiatives. With regard to the specific good practice, both quantitative and qualitative data was collected for the purpose of the dabbawala or Mumbai lunch box carrier case study. The dabbawala system has been popular in India and gained recognition worldwide after being awarded the Six Sigma title as a best practice in urban logistics in India. Since then, it has been quoted as a best practice of urban logistics in the Indian context. As a result a number of news articles, websites, reports, publications, books, presentations and journal papers have been available (Dabbawala, 2008). The dabbawala D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 system has been extensively written about from diverse perspectives (organizational, operational management, economics, sociocultural, anthropological, glamor etc.) to identify its success factors and unique working model. Therefore a thorough literature review was carried out as the first step in data collection in support of this new perspective of business models presented herewith. Secondly, the dabbawala organization was contacted and (open ended) interviews were held with key members of the Trust to gather information of its history, work culture and present challenges. The first author also traveled with one of the dabbawalas in Andheri region for collection of lunch boxes from the residences and observed the sorting activities to gain firsthand experience of the business processes. Thirdly, Mumbai city development plans, Comprehensive Transportation Study and news articles on urban transport were collected to understand the strategic development of the city. Interviews with transportation specialists within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) were conducted to gather information about the problems, measures and status of transport projects in Mumbai. These formed the main sources of data for this case study that is being analyzed under the business model perspective developed in TURBLOG project (TURBLOG, 2011). 2. Urban development in Mumbai Mumbai or formerly Bombay is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The metropolis lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbor. According to the 2001 Census, Greater Mumbai had a population of 11.91 million. The city’s population is expected to be 14.8 million by 2011 assuming the growth rate of 2.2% per annum with an average population density roughly estimated to be 22,000 people per km2. Mumbai is considered the financial capital of the country as it generates 6% of the total GDP of the nation.3 In 2009, Mumbai’s GDP per capita income was Rs. 128,000 (USD 2730) which is almost 3 times the national average (FT 2008). Until the 1970s Mumbai’s economy flourished on textile mills and sea trade. Port and shipping industry is an established sector in Mumbai with Mumbai port being one of the oldest and significant ports in India. In the past 3 decades, the economy has diversified into other sectors such as engineering, diamond polishing, healthcare, information technology, media and entertainment. For decades since India’s independence in 1947, Mumbai’s spatial development followed a mono-centric, linear pattern of growth wherein, office and commercial activity concentrated at the southern end of the city, the industrial and residential development spread northwards along the suburban rail corridors. De-centralization of commercial areas has been visible in Mumbai but took some years for businesses and population to relocate. Office relocations in Mumbai have shown some typical trends. Large manufacturing business establishments that require large tracts of land appear to have adopted decentralized locations. While small businesses that depend on inter-linkages with other businesses have agglomerated in areas with relatively lesser real estate market prices. In Andheri, (near Saki Naka and SEEPZ4) a lot of new offices related to electronics are coming up mainly through land use conversions from residential to industrial zones. New 3 http://www.financialexpress.com/news/gdp-growth-surat-fastest-mumbailargest/266636/ Last Retrieved 11 August 2010. 4 Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) was established in 197374 exclusively for manufacture and export of electronic items, a piece of 100 acres of land leased through the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Andheri (East), which over the years has become a land mark of Mumbai. 111 growth centers and new transport linkages are likely to give rise to a new spatial structure and pattern. Presently, South Mumbai continues to remain the most dominant business center in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. BandraKurla Complex has developed as Mumbai’s new International Finance and Business Center. Vashi has acquired a key position in Navi Mumbai’s development as the center for wholesale trade. Similarly, Central Business District of Navi Mumbai, and the area around Jawaharlal Nehru Port have developed for port-related activities and have attracted office establishments, export processing activities etc. (MCGM, 2005) 3. Urban freight transport in Mumbai Transport of millions of Mumbai citizens and goods is done by train, road and water transport modes. Over 88% of the Mumbai commuters and a small part of goods are transported by public transport (suburban trains or buses) because it is the most convenient, efficient and cheap transport to a population that cannot afford a car or use a private goods vehicle (Sriraman, Venkatesh, & Karne, 2006). Mumbai has the most extensive road and rail networks among India’s major cities. Road users are diverse and employ slow, medium and fast motorized and non-motorized vehicle types (mixed traffic) on the same road infrastructure. For example, vehicles include cyclists, pedestrians, hand carts, bullock carts, auto rickshaws, cars/taxis, commercial vehicles which include trucks, vans, trailers, tankers & tempo. Traffic management on Mumbai roads is handled by the Mumbai Traffic Police Department. Updated traffic bulletins are posted on the Mumbai Traffic Police website5 and announced in the local media (FM radio and local TV channels). Urban freight transport demand has increased as a consequence of increasing urban population, consumption patterns mainly as a consequence of increased economic activity and the mushrooming of malls for shopping. Due to the availability of a large diversity of consumer products and shopping malls all across the city, Mumbai experiences a massive increase in urban freight transport movements generally similar to cities in developing economies. From 1991 to 2005, the total number of motorized vehicles (goods and passenger) more than doubled from 0.6 to 1.3 million (MCGM, 2005). While the vehicles multiplied 37 times over the last 50 years, Mumbai’s road network only doubled. The number of registered vehicles (goods and passenger together) is growing at 4e5% per annum. Trailers have also registered 9% CAGR reflecting the increase in containerized goods movement through Mumbai’s ports (MCGM, 2005). Goods transport in Mumbai is important as two major ports of the country are located in Mumbai region and the region is well connected by rail and road with the rest of the country. Intercity flow of goods is characterized by bulk shipment whereas intra city movements are characterized by smaller shipments. The increase in the urban population, urban sprawl on the one hand and the relocation of wholesale markets and warehouses has triggered growth in urban freight transport volume and intensity. The annual urban freight transport growth rate in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is estimated to be 5.7% which means an inflow of goods tonnage to MMR is expected to increase from 100,000 tonnes in 2005 to 440,000 tonnes by 2031 (Sriraman et al., 2006). MMR produces 110,000 tonne of freight traffic daily, and attracts another 104,000 tonne on roads. Of this, Greater Mumbai generates about 43% and attracts 37% (Lea, 2007). Navi Mumbai, Bhiwandi and 5 http://www.trafficpolicemumbai.org/Traffic%20Bulletin.htmRetrieved August 2010. on 14 112 D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 Thane regions are also important freight traffic attraction centers. About 16% of the total freight movement constitutes through traffic, not stopping in MMR. According to (Lea, 2007), truck terminal area requirement will need to be increased from 350 Ha in 2005 to 1450 Ha by 2031. Mumbai’s urban population is projected to double in the next 32 years making the problem even more worrying. In fact, travel demand is often linked to economic growth more than population growth. The forecasted private vehicle growth in MMR is expected to grow by 9 million by 2031, an estimated increase of approximately 4.5 times from 2005. High vehicular growth is expected in Thane, Kalyan and Pen-Raigad areas compared to Greater Mumbai. A comparison of planning and organization of goods transport and city logistics is extremely difficult in the present circumstances because of two critical factors e goods transport data in India is non-existent and because of the lack of systematic and nonexistent standard data collection methodologies and institutions (Sriraman et al., 2006). There exists scarce urban freight transport data for the city of Mumbai. Given that the freight transport industry has never been in the public domain and fully deregulated, collection of freight transport data has always been a problem. A number of Working Committees set up by the Indian Government emphasized the need to develop systematic database. Very often, Working Committees appointed from time to time have commissioned studies for the purpose of their work and each Committee looks at specific issues which required specific data to be generated (Sriraman et al., 2006). As a result, no systematic time series data is available even now. According to the Planning Commission Committee Report for XI 5 year plan, there is not yet an institutionalized collection of freight transport data in any of the urban or inter-urban transport flows. In the given circumstances, the main sources for data collection in India for urban freight movements are Permit System, Vehicle Registrations and Octroi charges (Sriraman et al., 2006). However, the database relating to these permits is not updated on a systematic basis, as a result of which one is unable to know the exact number of permits issued. 3.1. Mumbai’s suburban rail system Mumbai’s suburban rail services are not only used for passenger movements but also freight movements. The main skeleton of the rail network in Mumbai was laid down in 1925 with 1500 volt DC (Direct Current) traction system, initially to link Mumbai and adjacent townships. This network grew rapidly to become the Mumbai termini of two great trunk railways interlacing the Indian sub-continent. Today Mumbai is served by two zonal railways Western and Central (See Fig. 1). The Western Railway line runs northward from Churchgate terminus station in Mumbai CBD extending 60 km northward up to Virar. The Central Railway runs from Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) situated on the eastern side of the Island extending north eastwards (120 km) linking Kasara and 100 km south eastwards linking Karjat. The Central Railway is also responsible for services on the “Harbor Line” which runs from Mumbai CST along the east side of Mumbai Island to Rawli Junction where the line splits. One branch goes to north west to join the western railway main line at Bandra, with other line continuing northward to Kurla, before turning eastwards to serve Chembur and Mankhurd and cross the new Thane Creek bridge to access the developing city of new Mumbai. The whole system consists of about 319 km of suburban rail with 95 stations, moving 6.6 million people every day using 2435 train services and constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of Indian railways itself (Sehgal & Surayya, 2011). Each suburban train in Mumbai is formed of electric multiple units (EMU’s) predominantly formed as 9 or 12 car rakes or coaches. Broadly each train contains special compartments or coaches (General and First Class compartments, Ladies General and First Class Compartments, Handicap and Cancer patients’ compartments, Senior Citizens compartment and Goods and Heavy luggage compartments) to cater to different needs of the travelers. Typically a dedicated the goods and heavy luggage compartment is located in the front, middle and rear sections of each suburban train. These compartments have wide doors on either side of the rake and have open space for stowage of cargo inside each goods compartment. Small vendors, traders and street hawkers are primary users of the goods compartments. Occasionally, inter-city passengers with heavy luggage use the goods compartment on the local trains to travel from home to the outstation railway stations or vice versa. Due to its extensive reach across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, efficiency of suburban rail and nominal fares, the suburban rail system is the preferred mode of transport suffers from severe overcrowding unknown to any other rail system of similar dimension. Over 5000 passengers are packed in a 9 car rake during peak hours as against a capacity of 1800. Goods transport too, by small vendors and traders has grown over the years to cater to the rising demands of the city’s population. The dedicated goods compartments are inadequate during peak hour traffic. Due to inadequate enforcement, many rail passengers use dedicated Goods compartments for commuting during peak hours regularly. This further reduces available capacity and increases inconvenience to carriers of goods during train journey. Although a number of measures to improve the suburban railways system have been planned under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project MUTP I, II and III) sanctioned under the Railways Ministry the primary focus has been on increasing the existing Mumbai suburban rail network, improving passenger comfort and provisioning for additional passenger capacity. There has been no mention of supplementing goods compartment capacity in any of the MUTP project phases. It remains to be seen whether special goods compartments on each train will continue in the medium and long term given that the pressure for carrying passengers is top priority for the decision makers and politicians. 4. Mumbai’s freight transport issues and proposed policy measures Road traffic density during peak hours in some areas of the city is so high that the average speeds climb down to as low as 6 km/h especially in the areas of Sion, Bandra and Dadar (Lea, 2007). In addition to vehicular growth other major factors for road congestion are identified as follows: Inadequate capacity of existing arterial roads linking CBD areas to the rest of Mumbai’s Metropolitan Region is identified as one of the main issues causing road congestion. There is a lack of East-West and North-South connectivity linking the commercial business center for the movement of people and urban freight along these corridors. The existing arterial roads (viz. Eastern and Western Express Highways) and suburban rail infrastructure (Western, Central and Harbor Lines) are proving inadequate for the increasing traffic volumes over the years. Free flow of traffic is seriously hampered by unplanned and frequent digging of roads by utility agencies/companies for laying utility lines throughout the year which after roads restoration leave the road in a bad condition. This causes road width to decrease on localized areas causing severe bottlenecks and problems of congestion. The poor riding surfaces in internal road networks either because of neglect or poor quality of maintenance (especially D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 Fig. 1. Mumbai suburban railway network (Source: www.mapsofindia.com). 113 114 D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 post monsoons every year) is a cause of slow traffic movement and resultant congestion. Road closures or diversions to promptly attend to maintenance works aggravate the traffic problems of congestion in the city. Traffic bottlenecks exist in the form of narrow right of ways in certain dense traffic regions in the city’s road networks resulting in overall drop in traffic speeds. Because of the severe imbalance of parking spaces and number of vehicles in the city, car and goods vehicles are forced to resort to on-street parking causing decrease in road capacity for free flow of traffic on the road networks. In 2007, common parking spaces were available for only 8000 vehicles in 100 odd pay and park areas across city. The city’s vehicular density is 591 vehicles per km2 compared to the international average vehicular density of 300 vehicles per square km.6 While some warehouses and retail outlets have dedicated parking areas, in most cases they are inadequate, hence the solution is to park on the streets, sometimes double and triple parking. This inevitably creates problems for drivers and for the traffic police who are unable to clear congested roads, making traffic jams inevitable. Proliferation of slums especially on sites reserved for essential infrastructure particularly of transport is causing impediments to the implementation of transport infrastructure augmentation projects. Most of these encroachments are on lands allocated to public infrastructure projects. Issues, policies, projects related to urban transport are handled at different levels by different departments in the region. There is a lack of coherent integrated approach in planning and managing transport infrastructure and services. Further the necessary investment is not coming in the transport sector due to financial constraints of respective organizations. Due to the fragmented planning and implementation of projects, urban transport (both passenger and freight) is negatively affected. As a direct consequence of road congestion and vehicular growth, negative externalities such as delays, air pollution and increased fuel consumption negatively impact India’s economy, human health and energy security. Mumbai is considered as one of the most polluted cities in the world.7 The growth of population, vehicles and industrial activity has aggravated air pollution levels. Vehicular emissions are found to be a major source of air pollution particularly at locations with higher traffic intensity. In the case of Mumbai, as vehicular growth is taking place even faster than population growth, this could have serious implications on sustainability of the economic growth unless immediate proactive steps to mitigate the existing problems are not managed well. According to the CTS Report, the annual growth rate of goods vehicle traffic assessed from past growth trends at 5.9% per annum (Lea, 2007). The inflow of goods tonnage of MMR is expected to increase from 100,000 tonnes in 2005 to 4.4 million tonnes in 2031. The existing high rate of on-street parking of goods vehicles clearly indicates the shortage of dedicated parking and truck terminal areas in the MMR region. The CTS has therefore proposed a long term strategy to expand truck terminal area from 350 Ha (2005) to 1450 Ha by 2031. The short term measures proposed mainly consist of improving access roads to the terminal areas, creation of adequate basic infrastructure 6 http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/editorial_mumbai-s-parking-problem_ 1080666Retrieved on 15 August 2010. 7 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q¼cache:4qQxabgL0ucJ:www. gits4u.com/envo/envo19. htmþ10þmostþpollutedþmumbai&cd¼6&hl¼en&ct¼clnk&gl¼inRetrieved on 15 August 2010. in terminal areas (Lea, 2007). Measures used in Mumbai for alleviation of traffic congestion have been a mix of land use policy measures, development of new urban transport infrastructure and expansion of the existing urban transport infrastructure network. In the last years, the following strategies have been undertaken in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, aimed to mitigate the negative impacts of the freight vehicles: 1. On Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor (DRFC), near boundary of MMR on NH-8 (MumbaieAhmedabad) 2. Shifting of wholesale markets from South Mumbai to New Mumbai area 3. Time and route restrictions on freight vehicles 4. Traffic restrictions scheme based on number plates has been implemented for regulating entry/exit of freight and passenger vehicles to the Mumbai Metropolitan area. 5. Development of all northesouth & eastewest arterial roads and missing links 6. Development of freeways around Mumbai and connecting with the hinterland 5. Analysis of the Mumbai lunch box delivery system The measure under analysis is a case study of the Mumbai lunch box delivery system henceforth called the dabbawala (meaning lunch box carrier) service. The logistics business thrives on the Mumbai employees whose needs are to get a home cooked meal respecting their culture and tastes. The dabbawala operations originated way back in 1890 when India was under British rule (Mallik & Mukherjee, 2007). At that time, people migrated for work to Mumbai from different states and belonging to different communities. At working places there were no canteens and many did not bring their lunches from home. Besides, different communities had different food habits, tastes and preferences which could only be satisfied by a homemade meal. Identifying this need, a gentleman named Mr. Mahadeo Medge started this lunch delivery service (Jampani & Dutta, 2004). The Mumbai dabbawala system is organized as a co-operative movement, where the basic entity is the dabbawala. Upto 8 dabbawalas makes up a team. One of the team members is assigned the role of a muqaddam (i.e. foreman). Upto 8 of such teams would form a group. There are 120 groups that together constitute the entire organization (Mallik & Mukherjee, 2007). The basic model of the selected good practice heavily depends on teamwork and meticulous timing. 5.1. Operations There are around 5000 dabbawalas in the system at any moment of time. Each dabbawala is assigned upto 30 customers in a specific geographical area. Each dabbawala visits his customers for lunch box collection using a fixed route by bicycle or walking. The household is expected to keep the lunch box ready when the dabbawala reports for collection which is usually between 7.00 am and 9.00 am (Ravichandran, 2005). If the lunch is not ready the dabbawala would leave for the next destination. After collecting approximately 30 such lunch boxes they are brought to the nearest suburban railway station for sorting and onward transportation. Usually more than one team of dabbawalas operates out of a collection point in a railway station (See Fig. 2). At the originating railway station a team of designated dabbawalas would sort the lunch boxes according to their destinations. The dabbas have a detailed and elaborate codification system that facilitates the sorting process. The codification system clearly identifies the origin of the lunch box, associated collection team D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 115 Fig. 2. Dabbawala logistics activity chart: home to work. member, destination, corresponding team leader, destination, location, building identification and floor number (Unnithan, 2001). The dabbas are sorted based on the coding system at the closest origin railway station and bundled into groups for origin to hub transfer using the Mumbai suburban rail services. The origin to hub transfer normally happens in designated carts. The dabbas and carts are sorted according to collection and destination railway stations, transfer of dabbas and carts across the suburban lines (Central, Western and Harbour) is managed by dedicated dabbawalas at predetermined hub railway stations situated at specific line intersections. These carts are loaded into pre-determined compartments in the beginning or at the end of the train. At the destination railway station, the dabbas are re-sorted based on final destination (location, building and floor).The sorting and loading operations need care and are time bound. The lunch boxes arrive at the destination railway stations by 11:30 am. At each destination station, boxes are handed over to a local dabbawalas (the last link in the chain), who deliver them to the end customer at their office locations in time for lunch hour by designated members. All dabbas are delivered before 1.00 pm. The empty boxes after lunch are again collected at the destination railway station and sorted to the respective origin location, placed on standard carts, loaded on trains and unloaded at the respective origin stations by designated members. The dabbas are then finally taken to individual households by the same dabbawala who collected them in the morning. Usually, by 5.30 pm all dabbas are delivered to households and the dabbawalas retire for the day. To better understand the complex sorting process, let’s take an example. At Vile Parle Station, assume there are 20 teams of dabbawalas, each having 5 members and each member servicing 30 customers. That makes 3000 lunch boxes in all. These 3000 lunch boxes are collected by 9.00 am, reach the station and are sorted according to their destinations by 10.00 am when the ‘dabbawala special’ train arrives. The railway provides sorting areas on platforms as well as special compartments on trains traveling south between 10.00 am and 11.30 am. During the journey, these dabbawalas regroup according to the number of lunch boxes to be delivered in a particular area, and not according to the groups they actually belong to. If 150 lunch boxes are to be delivered in the Grant Road Station area, then 5 dabbawalas wait at that station, keeping in mind one person can carry no more than 30 lunch boxes. During the first sorting process, each dabbawala would have concentrated on locating only those 30 lunch boxes under his charge, wherever they come from, and this specialization makes the entire system efficient and almost error-free. Typically it takes about ten to fifteen minutes to search, assemble and arrange 40 lunch boxes onto a crate, and by 12.30 pm they are delivered to offices. 116 D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 5.2. Lunch box coding system Most of the dabbawalas have migrated from villages to Mumbai in search of jobs. Due to economic hardship or lack of interest a majority of them have been educated upto primary school level. Hence the dabbawala delivery system has adapted the coding system accordingly. Instead of technological solutions, the coding system is based on the exchanges of lunch boxes between dabbawalas. The system uses unique codes for the railway stations, origin/destination points and identity of the dabbawalas handling each lunch box. For this, signs, different colors, numbers and a few letters are used and same is clearly marked on each lunch box. The codification system ensures complete traceability of lunch boxes in the system. It enables material flow and tracking of individual boxes by detailed information which integrates the knowledge and information of individual dabbawalas on route, origin, handling agent, destination address, etc. The “address” of the customer is painted on the top by the dabbawalas. The home address is not marked since the dabbawala knows by heart to which places in his collecting area he has to pickup his lunch boxes. If a new customer appears in his own collecting area, he will do the complete journey to check the address of delivery in order to fix with the other dabbawalas in which manner it will be then delivered. He will have to find who, on the way, will have a free place in his freight to take one more lunch boxes up to which place, and so on up to the very place of delivery. Once the chain has been established, with all the necessary stops for exchange decided, it is possible to mark the address. Fig. 3 depicts a sample set of codes that are marked on each lunch box that help to identify the origin and destination points, help different groups of dabbawalas to identify their set of lunch boxes at each leg of the journey and help sort the lunch boxes at each juncture before they make the onward journey. Since many ’dabbawallas’ are illiterate, the coding system is decided arbitrarily by the dabbawalas and known to all of them. 5.3. Stakeholders The dabbawalas’ service is a monopoly in Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Five stakeholders are identified that are directly involved in the provision of the dabbawala logistics system (See Table 1). The main clientele for the lunch box service as explained above are office going employees in the city of Mumbai (Pathak, 2010). Their needs are to receive fresh food from home at reasonably cheap costs on a regular, reliable and fast service such that the food is at least warm when they consume it. These constitute the main requirement of the customers. Fig. 3. Coding system framework used by the dabbawalas.81 Table 1 Stakeholders directly involved in the Mumbai dabbawala logistics system. Parties/stakeholders Functions Family members of the working people Canteens/catering services Suppliers of filled lunch boxes for delivery to family member in CBD area Suppliers of filled lunch boxes if home cooked food is not available Marketing of their products through the dabbawalas. Some are also customers of the service Clients (receivers) of the dabbawala service Executing the dabbawala logistics service Product manufacturers, service providers, retailers, etc. Working people in Mumbai Employees of the dabbawala system As seen typically in the informal sector the dabbawala service does not make formal contracts with its clientele. The whole system relies on trust. When the lunch box delivery service is commenced, service charges for a full month are collected in advance. Subsequently, money is collected in the first Sunday of every month by each dabbawala and remitted to the foreman (Quien, 1997). The range of customers includes students (both college and school), entrepreneurs of small businesses, managers, especially bank staff, and mill workers. They generally tend to be middle-class citizens who, for economy reasons, hygiene, caste, dietary restrictions or simply because they prefer whole-some food, rely on the dabbawala to deliver a home cooked mid-day meal (Quien, 1997). Suppliers of the filled lunch boxes i.e. family members of the working people in Mumbai support the dabbawala in meeting no delays in delivering lunch boxes. While the end customers, i.e. working people in Mumbai accept delivery at the ground floor level of their workplaces at destination locations. New customers are generally acquired through referrals. Some are solicited by dabbawalas on railway platforms. Addresses are passed on to the dabbawala operating in the specific area, who then visits the customer to finalize arrangements. Canteens or catering service providers that cater to specific tastes are also hired to offer value added services in the distribution system. When a customer to the dabbawala service is unable to arrange home cooked food, he could opt for a canteen/catering service. The canteens prepare wholesome food, pack them in the standard lunch boxes at the appropriate time and deliver it to the dabbawala who will then ensure it reaches the end customer. Of course, the charges of this value added service also include the costs of the catering services. It is not clear whether the dabbawalas receive a commission for employing a particular canteen service. The suburban Railway services are employed for the main haulage of the lunch boxes and the last mile is ensured by dabbawalas walking or cycling. Every dabbawala buys a railway pass which allows them to make unlimited trips on designated routes for a period of time. The dabbawala service is also used to market consumer products and services selectively to its potential clientele. Realizing the potential and reach of the dabbawalas several brands have tied up with them to reach out to consumers. For example, recent promotion is the one of confectionery company, Perfetti Van Melle India (PVMI). The company distributed its newly launched liquidfilled, mango-flavored candy, “Mangofillz” with each lunch box sent out. This is the first fruit candy from PVMI, as the other products are milk-based or breath-fresheners and gums.9 The commuting passengers in suburban trains are generally tolerant to the inconveniences caused to them by the dabbawalas 9 http://www.afaqs.com/perl/news/story.html?sid¼26629) August 2010. retrieved on 17 D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 activities in the overcrowded, overstretched suburban rail transport services. The members of the dabbawala service system are delighted to work for the Trust as they are supported by empowerment, compensation and a lifelong economic activity in the informal sector which is uncommon in other professions at least in the informal employment sector. 5.4. Product and/or service involved The Mumbai dabbawala system is designed to collect, transport and distribute lunch boxes routinely to its customers every working day (Mallik & Mukherjee, 2007). The service not only provides clean home food but it also delivers it safely against theft and pilferage. As bringing home cooked food is the main service provided by the dabbawala system, the characteristics of the goods and service requirements can be characterized as follows: Perishability e Home cooked food needs to be supplied in typically 2e3 h so as to ensure non-perishability of the food items. Size & fragility e The outer container is typically of aluminum casing of particular size and water tight which simplifies the transport and handling of lunch boxes. Even so, it needs to be ensured that the lunch boxes are not dropped or overturned as the food may get mixed. Special conditions e adverse weather conditions like extreme heat or heavy rainfall may delay the delivery and to a certain extent there might be special problems like vehicles/rail accidents The efficiency of the dabbawalas ensures complete customer satisfaction as there is no delay. The service is continuously innovated by offering new services, while riding on their core strength of on-time and reliable delivery services. A few examples of their innovation are introducing a new express delivery service (pick-up at 11 am); linking with groups of housewives to cook and supply lunch boxes for customers who prefer home-cooked food; work with marketing agents and media houses to physically distribute promotional items, along with the lunch boxes, to the offices or residences of their customers (Pathak, 2010). The standard lunch boxes used for the meal delivery have slowly given way to more elaborate and colorful packaging, and the system has cleverly evolved to accommodate the request of customers who want their meals to be delivered to them in a fancy and “appetizing” manner (Percot, 2005). 5.5. Financial aspects During the survey conducted in July 2010, each customer of the dabbawala system was charged between Rs. 400 to Rs. 700 per lunch box per month for the service depending on customer requirements, transport distances and economic condition of the customer. Customized offerings (larger lunch box, special diet requirements, etc.) were charged separately. The customer only needed to invest upfront, a token sum to purchase the lunch box to store the meals. Further negotiation of the price and collection timings was done between the customer and team leader. Generally, lower income customers were charged lesser than others. It was upto the team leader to decide on the final rates based on his judgment and consideration of the economic status of the customer. 8 http://www.typocity.com/icon.htmRetrieved on 15 September 2010. 117 The main cost items are wages, rail passes and rail freight charges. The members use the rail network which charges Rs. 100 per crate and Rs. 180 per member per month. Each member is paid a reasonable compensation of between Rs. 5000 to Rs. 7000 per month net wages after meeting all expenses like railway monthly passes and capital costs incurred for purchase of carts, crates and bicycles. The exact wages for each dabbawala varied according to the total customers serviced, services provided and total origindestination distance. There were no large investments in the services of the dabbawala delivery system, since it was primarily a labor intensive service. When a member is recruited he is obliged to buy his own uniform and purchase a bicycle for himself. The bicycle is used by the member himself for pickup and delivery. All these contribute to low operational costs and hence a reasonable price for the end customer. New recruits are initially hired on lower wages. After evaluating their performance they are offered membership (shareholders) of the trust and assigned to one of the groups by the member who introduced him to the group. Each dabbawala is guaranteed a monthly income and employment for life. As there is no retirement age, he may work as long as he is physically fit. Each team is financially independent and serves its own customers without hampering the interests of the others, but work together in the delivery process. Each member pays Rs. 15 per month as contribution to the welfare fund which acts as an insurance cover. The association provides various services to its members from this welfare fund, including loan facilities for emergencies, education expenses for members’ children, healthcare, etc. The balance of the savings goes to a charitable trust. Other sources of revenue come from marketing. Realizing the large customer base to which the dabbawalas are in direct contact with, a number of business enterprises use the dabbawalas to market their products and services by sending flyers to the end customers through the dabbawalas. Donations from philanthropic institutions and fees received from public speaking and presentations also constitute other revenue sources. A quarter of the total revenues received from marketing activities go the Trust while the rest are equally distributed amongst all the dabbawalas. 5.6. Success factors of the Mumbai dabbawala services This section explores the potential transferability of the business model of the dabbawala system to other cities and other companies. The following conditions are identified as unique to the Mumbai dabbawala system which has sustained the service for so many years. Topography: The dabbawala service has evolved in the context of Mumbai city whose topography is almost linear. The linear geographic dimensions such as seen in Mumbai city is an important factor for its success. At the origin it is dispersed over a large area. At the destination it is concentrated on a small geographical area. The traffic pattern is characterized by low volume spread over a large area to high volume spread over a small area. Public transport system: The main mode of transportation employed in the dabbawala logistics service is the regular and reliable public transportation system in the city i.e. the suburban railway system. The entire operational area serviced by the dabbawalas is connected by a well developed rail infrastructure network in Mumbai. Mumbai suburban rail services are inexpensively priced. This keeps the cost low and 118 D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 hence affordable price to the customers. Lower price induces volume and scale economies. Culture: Mumbai is a very cosmopolitan city where people with diverse cultures, backgrounds and food habits migrated. The diversity of food habits makes it impossible for local restaurants, canteens or fast food centers to fulfill specific tastes and needs of each employee in a same place. Market characteristics: The dabbawala service caters to the most basic and perpetual demand of delivering home prepared ethnic food to Indian middle income executives working in Mumbai. This market segment is expected to exist for a long time to come. The only threat to its existence is the changing food habits of the customers, but this is surely expected to be slow. 6. Evaluation of the good practice In this subsection the impact of the dabbawala system on Mumbai city and its citizens is evaluated based on operational, economic, environmental and social impacts. The dabbawala system is scalable to the changing demand for this service. As sorting, handling and transport of lunch boxes are done manually, manpower forms the main resource for adapting production capacity. Scalability of the dabbawala service is ensured by a well developed apprentice program that ensures adequate personnel or slack capacity to service is available at all times to cater to sudden changes in demand. In case the demand drops, the apprentices are temporarily laid off who then seek other employment sources during slack periods. Delivery system efficiency The dabbawala system is greatly dependent on Mumbai’s suburban rail system for operation and punctuality, without which the main haulage of lunch boxes would not be possible and the delivery system would be non-functional. The ‘last-mile’ delivery to the final destination is relatively slow. Although one could argue that it could have be even slower if vehicles were used in its place, because of the low average peak hour vehicle speeds (16e17 km/h) and difficulties in flexibility and maneuverability imposed by road restrictions and parking for commercial vehicles within the CBD area. 6.1. Operational impacts 6.2. Economic impacts The operational impact is evaluated based on three measures, namely, total delivery times of the consignments, goods volumes and delivery system efficiency. Total Delivery times: The dabbawala logistics system use walking, bicycles and suburban trains as the 3 modes of collection, transport and delivery of the lunch boxes to their customers. The last mile i.e. from railway station to the customer in the CBD area is transported by using hand carts. Mixed traffic in Mumbai roads to a large extent aggravate congestion problems in the CBD areas during peak hours. As common road space is utilized by the dabbawalas during morning peak hours for the movement of the lunch boxes. This induces congestion especially near the railway station. On the other hand, dabbawalas are instrumental in reducing traffic congestion if seen from another perspective. If dabbawalas were to employ motorized vehicles in the CBD area for pickup and delivery, it could further aggravate congestion and contribute to slower movement of traffic during peak hour traffic. This would also add to the problems of on-road parking issues which would ultimately aggravate the traffic congestion levels on major arterial roads. Time restrictions on heavy goods vehicle movements in most CBD areas would force them to employ light commercial vehicles for delivery that would increase the number of trips or number of vehicles causing more road congestion. For example, if 15e20% of the employees in a commercial building within the CBD area were to employ lunch box delivery system, this would reduce the number of employees traveling out of their workplaces for lunch, thereby, proportionally reducing mobility of people and vehicles during lunch hours on working days. Although no surveys have been conducted to verify the hypothesis, the authors are convinced that it could have a positive impact to society by reduction of the amount of private vehicle trips, vehicle-kilometers and overall travel times in the CBD areas. This ensures that workers and employees are well on time for duty in the afternoon after lunch hours contributing to the man-hours on the job. Goods volumes: After discussing the impacts on transportation, this subsection throws light on the economic impacts of the dabbawala system on public and private actors namely, Mumbai city and citizens and companies. To city and citizens: The employment of public transportation and non-motorized modes of transport (walking and bicycling) for the “last mile” collection and deliveries, contributes to drastic reduction of operational costs in the dabbawala delivery system. These cost savings are transferred to the end customer. This makes the service attractive for the lower middle class employees who constitute the target market segment for the lunch box delivery services in Mumbai. The use of hand carts for “last mile” deliveries in the CBD areas allow the dabbawala system the increased maneuverability in negotiating narrow lanes and byroads in addition it helps them to temporarily park at the building that needs to be serviced, thus contributing to efficient and timely delivery system. This would have been otherwise difficult as lack of parking areas, road congestion and traffic regulations within CBD areas would deter the efficient delivery or collection of lunch boxes. Another advantage is that the delivery space required (in area on the road) for the hand carts is smaller than for a motorized vehicle carrying an equal number of lunch boxes. The dabbawala service is recognized as an outstanding example of service delivery and is the most talked about Indian example of excellence in logistics operations. Several academic institutions routinely invite dabbawala representatives to make formal presentations to compliment and include their case study in their coursework. Also, senior management of many Indian businesses introduce dabbawala system as a case study in their meetings and reviews to motivate their managers towards adopting world class systems. The lunch box system has enhanced the employment opportunities for illiterate and semi-illiterate people in the informal employment sector in Mumbai. The dabbawala system offers sustainable means of livelihood, economic security and the feeling D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 of legitimacy to its members, mainly consisting of migrants from rural areas from the Pune region. To companies: The virtue of using the existing public transport system as the main transport mode, low wage structure and manual operations has greatly reduced the overhead costs, operational costs, logistical complexity and management costs. The fleet used in this system consist of low cost modalities (i.e. bicycles), which makes the investment costs relatively low. The dabbawala system is used by many consumer product companies and media services as a marketing means to launch new products or promote existing products and services with a particular market segment. This forms a new source of revenue for the dabbawalas while is a relatively cheaper and simpler means of targeting specific market segment for companies. 6.3. Environmental impacts Due to the use of non-motorized means of transport for freight logistics activities, the dabbawala system does not contribute directly to the pollution in the city of Mumbai. In this section, the environmental impacts of the dabbawala logistics system on the different stakeholders are explored. To city and citizens: As described earlier, the use of environmental friendly vehicles in the full logistics chain has a tremendous positive environmental impact on the city and its citizens. As no motorized vehicles are used for this logistics system, fuel consumption and hence direct emissions such as such as CO2, CO, HC, NOx, PM and SOx from their activities are totally eliminated, although indirect emissions from use of trains could be included in their carbon footprint. The logistics system also has a positive impact by reduction of vehicular noise related pollution. dabbawalas sing devotional songs in chorus during their suburban train journeys as a means of breaking the monotony of work, as well as for entertainment and spiritual progress. Although loud and noisy for some commuters, the melody and rhythm of the devotional songs are liked by majority of the co-passengers that travel in the same train. To companies: By far, the dabbawala system is a best practice also in terms of its environmental friendly image because of its “zero emission” activities, at least directly. Since the lunch box delivery system is one of its kind in Mumbai, the positive image as environment friendly service matters little in attracting or retaining its customers. Moreover, road traffic regulations and pollution norms imposed by the authorities have no impact on the dabbawala activities as they do not operate motorized vehicles. 6.4. Social impacts The dabbawala service impacts society in many ways. This subsection elaborates on the social impacts of this delivery system on city, its citizens, companies and employees. To city and citizens: A majority of commuters in the suburban railways in Mumbai during the peak hours are familiar with the dabbawalas and their activities. A majority of the regular commuting public is tolerant to 119 the inconveniences caused by them in the already overcrowded overstretched suburban rail transport system. Over a period of time the dabbawalas have become an essential component of modern Mumbai. Dabbawalas deliver the dabbas by hand carts in Mumbai’s CBD areas. These hand carts are pushed by a number of dabbawalas at the side of roads and streets leading to their customers. As the hand carts are pushed at slow speeds, the risk of injury to pedestrians from collision with the hand carts is inconsequential. The road space is also preferred to footpaths, because the footpaths are poorly maintained. Also a number of obstructions on footpaths from street hawkers and pedestrian flows restrict the free movement of these carts A number of advantages of employing the lunch box service by its customers are recorded from various surveys conducted in different studies. At first sight it would seem logical that office going people carry their own lunch boxes themselves to work. However, knowing the travel conditions in suburban trains during peak hours in Mumbai it is easier to understand the difficulty involved in holding a lunch box in addition to a briefcase that most employees use to take with them (Percot, 2005). Secondly, the dabbawala offers a link to home for its customers that are mainly constituted of lower middle class and middle class people. A lot of its customers travel and work long hours and therefore find inadequate time to spend with their family. For them, the dabbawala service is an actual link with home as it not only offers home cooked food but also is used as a letter box to communicate written information and messages inserted inside the lunch boxes between family members at home and workplace. By delivering to each employee this lunch box filled with home cooked food, dabbawalas cater to individual tastes of an estimated 200,000 customers in a megapolis city such as Mumbai where the diversity of Indian food habits is difficult to cater to in restaurants. Also the high cost of living makes it unaffordable for many to eat outside regularly. For many, the diet restrictions are a reason for people to employ the lunch box service. To companies/employees: The dabbawala profession was perceived as transitory employment in the hope of subsequently obtaining a job in the organized sector. This notion is however no longer present in the dabbawalas’ minds. Although it is often someone’s choice which determines entry into the profession, the dabbawalas are nevertheless lucky to get into the informal sector as this is also not always simple. The dabbawala service has a positive impact on society as it has provided a source of stable livelihood, job security and means of economic independence in the informal sector to atleast 5000 members at any given time. Their traditional Maharashtrian uniform is for them the symbol of their community. Numerous ceremonies are organized such as common prayers in Mumbai temples, annual pilgrimages or music festivals where they reaffirm their solidarity and contribute to unity of the group. A 15-day forced holiday per year is imposed on each member to visit his hometown. Members express pride in having devised this system when they were illiterate. A few others acknowledge advantages in this work are independence, freedom as well as comfort and support by working amongst a network of family members. The job for each dabbawala is specified to collect, transport and distribute lunch boxes of upto 30 customers in a pre-assigned geographical area every day for 25 working days in a month. This is physically demanding and strenuous job as each member should be able to carry 30 lunch boxes (which could weigh upto 100 kg) on their head and walk 2e3 km effortlessly. The work hours are between 8.30 am to 5.00 pm with an appropriate rest period of 120 D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 2.5 h. They travel in the train along with lunch boxes every day. The regular travel by dabbawalas on over-crowded suburban local trains is also an occupational hazard. The sorting and loading operations are time bound. They are carried out in public spaces and are usually congested. Women are discouraged from employment in this delivery system because it involves hard manual labor and the employees have to face tough working conditions. Since the road space is preferred by the dabbawalas to footpaths, there is relatively more danger (speeding vehicles and errant drivers) to the safety of dabbawalas. A number of accidents have been reported which have led to injuries of some dabbawalas and even death. However, this job has also positive sides. The members are never laid off unless they get sick or meet with an accident or retire. This is not commonly seen in the informal employment sector or in any private sector in India. Though the members have been living in the city for years, they persist to claim their rural origins which contribute to their feeling of unity and identity. 7. Success factors for lunch box delivery system The noteworthy achievement of the Mumbai dabbawala logistics service has been the adaptation of their operations to the local conditions and available resources as well as innovation to provide new value added services without sacrificing core competence of reliable and punctual services on a regular basis. There are several complimentary aspects which provide exclusivity and uniqueness to the Mumbai dabbawala logistics service. They are as identified as follows: Business model based on inexpensive and reliable public infrastructure service, without sunk costs High volumes of service built over a period of time provide an unparalleled advantage to the dabbawala service system of Mumbai. Logistics pattern and operations have evolved over the Mumbai topography that is linear. Availability of cheap labor for this activity Preference for home based food is important contextual uniqueness specific to the Indian, particularly Mumbai population. Scalability of the dabbawala system without major changes to the system Minimum capital investments Inexpensive variation of coding and tracking system Value based human resource management practices Unless all the above unique conditions are met in other cities, it might be difficult to integrate the dabbawala delivery in another city or country in the same way as is done in Mumbai. The lesson learned from this case study is that the each urban logistics system will have to continuously evolve over a period of time to develop customized services that best fits to its customer requirements and city profile within the constraints of available resources. One of the important characteristics of the dabbawala business model is its scalability i.e. the property of the dabbawala system to accommodate changes in transaction volume without major changes to the system. This is possible because of an elaborate apprentice system prevalent in the organization that provides the required manpower. Secondly, the lunch box tracking system is an inexpensive variation of the online tracking system relying on punctuality, trust and co-operation. And thirdly no capital investments are required as additional costs of the necessary equipment such as bicycle or hand cart are borne by the new member himself and therefore when he leaves the member gets to keep his bicycle. The size, scalable nature of operations, modular structure, customer service and negligible errors has kept competition away from this attractive business proposition. Human Resource Management practices are built on member’s pride in work. The members do not consider themselves as logistics providers but see the job as an opportunity to provide food to their customers which is a source of pride for them. It is a great motivating factor. This is supported by a cultural uniformity as all of them belong to the same community and the system has a well developed apprenticeship development programme. These are some of the success factors for the sustainability of the dabbawala business model for over a century. Although the dabbawala service has been operational for more than 120 years, it has catered to a specific market segment and customer segment. The simplistic lifestyle of its members coupled with lack of formal education could be some of the reasons for the absence of enterprise and initiative to diversify their business into other commercially lucrative urban logistics markets, customer segments or into other cities. This could be treated as a sort of failure of the trust to diversify their business to other related logistics businesses. 8. Scope for transferability of Mumbai’s lunch box delivery system to other cities From the perspective of transferability of this best practice, we realize that the core business of home-cooked food distribution may not be a viable business elsewhere as culture plays a strong part in the demand side of the business. Even so, the delivery system could be applied for a product with characteristics of perpetual demand and homogeneity. Transfer of management practices and operational procedures of the dabbawala system are worth exploring in other cities in the world. An important factor in terms of transferability proposition is the utilization of relatively cheap transport system for urban logistics (e.g. bicycles, public transportation, etc.). The efficient and effective utilization of Mumbai’s public transport system (suburban commuter rail in this case) as the main mode of urban logistics transport has a potential for transferability where public transport services are reliable, regular, cheap and with an extensive well connected network. This would allow cost reductions to make the urban logistics services attractive, which could lead to the generation of formidable business volumes over a period of time. For urban logistics innovations, similar to Mumbai lunch box delivery system to materialize, the availability of dedicated goods carriage facilities in public transport systems plays a critical factor. Hence, this is an important learning for other cities to consider. Another important operational aspect of the lunch box delivery model that is potentially transferable is its scalability and member driven logistic activity. The availability of additional trained personnel allows flexibility to scale up the logistics operations at short notice. Secondly, flat organizational structure and empowerment of personnel to manage their own day to day operations provides harmony, synergy and symphony. Tracking mechanism is an innovative and inexpensive variation of online tracking system which makes it inexpensive. Even so this simple codification system of tiffin boxes may be seriously constrained to handle multiple products with deliveries in many directions. To develop a tracking system that is simple, userfriendly, cheap and locally executable has the potential of transferability in other logistics businesses. The linear topography of the city and the existing pattern of the Mumbai region’s development play a role in relatively reducing the complexity of this best practice. We could expect that cities with similar linear topography and development patterns maybe more D. Baindur, R.M. Macário / Research in Transportation Economics 38 (2013) 110e121 inclined to develop less complex logistics practices by the local logistics industry. 9. Conclusions After a brief overview of the Mumbai city’s existing freight transport issues and policy measures underway, the business model of the Mumbai dabbawala service system was analyzed. One of the remarkable achievement of the dabbawala system has been that change, in the last 120 years since its inception, has not affected the success of the dabbawala system. The paper highlighted a number of success factors that were unique to the culture and spatial development of Mumbai population, while some that were universally applicable such as the value based human resource management. We agree that the core business of home-cooked food distribution may not be a viable business elsewhere as culture plays a strong part in the demand side of the business. Even so, the delivery system could be applied to a local product with characteristics of perpetual demand and homogeneity. Transfer of management practices and operational procedures of the dabbawala system are worth exploring in other cities in the world. This case study demonstrates that the informal sector is capable of managing a complex urban logistics system as efficiently and effectively as any other logistics company in the organized sector. The uniqueness of this urban logistics case study has been the efficient and effective utilization of Mumbai’s cheap public transport system (suburban commuter rail in this case) as the main mode of transport as well as its linear topography. This aspect has a potential for transferability especially in cities where public transport services are reliable, regular, cheap and with the network that is well connected. To adopt the dabbawala model in other cities in totality may not be practicable, because it caters to a specific market and customer segment. Therefore any urban logistics activity fully based on this would inherently have less universal transferability unless it is applied in other cities having similar linear topographies, cheap public transport system and the need to transport homogeneous products with characteristics of perpetual and regular demand. 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