Tech-Free Service Design: Mumbai’s “Dabbawalas”

Using no digital technology whatsoever, Mumbai’s “Dabbawalas” are a network of 5,000 delivery people that deliver up to 200,000 lunch boxes per day, in the fourth most populated city in the world! For the past two decades, thousands of Mumbai’s workforce have had a lunch box carrying a homemade meal picked up from their home, delivered to their desk by lunch time, then delivered back to their home ready to be refilled for the next day. A primarily illiterate and decentralized workforce, “Dabbawalas” are legends of efficiency, accuracy, and trustworthy service. Making less than one error every six million deliveries, the “Dabbawala” system is a well-oiled, totally analog, model of exemplary service design. Come learn from the “Dabbawalas!”

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photo of Neha Agarwal

Neha Agarwal

Think Company

photo of Dhiraj Sapkal

Dhiraj Sapkal

Think Company

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About
Format: Presentation
Type: Session
Track: Design
Level: Intermediate