six-sigma performance

MBA students at IIT Kharagpur are drinking in every word uttered by their new management guru, Manish Tripathi.Manish is the Director of 116 years old Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association, also famous as the Dabbawallahs of Mumbai, which has a turnover of Rs 10 million.The dabbawallah, taught IITians a thing or two about logistics and supply chain management.The service has been feted by Forbes for its six-sigma performance and an unbelievable error rate of one in 16 million transactions.For the IITians and students and faculty of University of Nebraska who are at the institute on an exchange programme, the dabbawallah's management mantras were magical. How they operate through a simple colour coding scheme and zero dependence on technology certainly gave them food for thought.The dabbawallahs have taken the jargon out of the management class and given the students a feel of how to put theory into practice. It has been an enriching experience for the students of IIT Kharagpur. Lessons from this will stay with them all their life