Dabbawalas are now mentoring delivery boys

The sight of those white capped men in white uniforms in Mumbai makes one hungry. And the traditional people delivering meals for ages have also contributed to Mumbai’s identity in the global map. Their experience and work culture have been a topic of studies in various management institutes across India.

Yes, we are talking about the Dabbwalas of Mumbai.

Now, Bengaluru-based food aggregator Swiggy has partnered with the famous Mumbai dabbawalas to train its own delivery fleet ahead of its launch in four Mumbai neighbourhoods, according to a news report by The Economic Times.

"The dabbawalas are something that you immediately identify with when it comes to food delivery in Mumbai," Nandan Reddy, cofounder, Swiggy told the financial daily.

"We want to understand the dabbawalas' culture and what drives them with regards to quality and consistency of deliveries, and put them in place in Swiggy."

The Mumbai dabbawalas, a century-old system by which the delivery men bring hundreds of thousands of homemade meals to office workers without the aid of technology, is estimated to have an error rate of one in six million.

"Mumbai dabbawalas can teach delivery companies about making deliveries consistent, timely and accurate. Their passion and commitment is not about work culture, but because work is worship," Pawan Agrawal, who travels globally to speak on Mumbai dabbawalas told the ET. "After such a workshop, they can do best."