2026-07-09 –, Lokin Room Language: English
PyVRP
In this talk we will explore vehicle routing problems (VRPs) in practice. The VRP is a generalisation of the travelling salesman problem (TSP) to multiple vehicles. Many organisations routinely solve VRPs as part of their operations, and increasingly choose to rely on open source software to do so. I will introduce PyVRP, a state-of-the-art VRP solver I initially developed during my PhD at the RUG, and then discuss a few cases - including in grocery delivery, and waste collection in Groningen. Along the way we'll learn about VRPs, routing heuristics, simulations, and the potential improvements I believe open source optimisation software can unlock for many organisations.
I'm Niels, and I like to write software tools that help humans make better decisions, particularly involving decision-making in routing and logistics. I hold a PhD degree in operations research from the University of Groningen, and I also have a background in (ancient) history and econometrics.
I now have over a decade of experience writing high-performance software. Recently, I co-founded Applied Routing to commercialise PyVRP, our open-source vehicle routing problem solver.