Ram Kadam, 38, 19, carries lunchboxes on his handcart from Girgaum in Mumbai to Lower Parel by 9 a.m., partly by road, partly by train. Kadam and his nearly 5,000-city dabbawalas are synonymous with the city, with case studies of his near-zero error distribution methods taught in top management schools. However, the pandemic left the dabbawalas, known for their intimate knowledge of Mumbai’s streets, jobless due to the city’s lockdown and the closure of offices. Many returned to their villages, while some made a living by doing odd jobs. Kadam too struggled to run his household and pay for the education of his four children. But, earlier this year, just as he was about to leave town, he was selected for a new job – this time with a high-end hospitality firm.
Kadam is now back in the food delivery business as part of a team of around 60 delivery boys – all dabbawalas – for impresario handmade restaurants, including chains of cafes and restaurants like Social, Smoke House Deli, Salt Water Cafe, Mocha Huh. and Earth Cafe.
With his smartphone in a waterproof delivery pouch hanging over his shoulders, he cruises through the suburbs on his bicycle, deftly beating city traffic to meet tight deadlines. For Riyaz Amlani, CEO of Impresario, while the move was meant to reach the dabbawalas when they needed it most, it also made perfect business sense. “Dabbawalas are iconic and represent the true spirit of Mumbai,” he says. “Rain or shine, they will bring you food in time.” The decision also helped them avoid “high-level policies of food aggregators”. Around 21 outlets of the firm in Mumbai use dabbawalas for delivery.
Riyaz Amlani, 46, CEO & MD, Impresario Handmade Restaurant, Mumbai
While none of the dabbawalas needed lessons on on-time delivery, they did need some training in dealing with customers and using delivery software that tracked orders. Mayank Bhatt, Business Head, Social, who struck the deal with the dabbawalas’ apex body, Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust to hire the dabbawalas after several rounds of talks, says that the dabbawalas learned quickly and received feedback from customers. Been excellent. ,
The restaurant chain expects to employ 90-100 dabbawalas in the next few months. At present, they are engaged to fulfill orders coming directly to restaurants, but these are only 25 per cent of the total delivery orders (the rest come from food aggregators). Amlani hopes to make more customers aware of ordering food directly from restaurants, thereby opening up more avenues for dabbawalas.
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