Express courier. Direct.
Also overnight.
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Last‑mile route optimisation: algorithms and tools for Switzerland
How to plan more efficient delivery routes in Switzerland? This guide explains TSP, VRP and suitable tools, with practical tips for Swiss cities and fleets.
Quick answer
For last‑mile route optimisation in Switzerland, pass from theory to practice by using TSP for single‑vehicle tours and VRP when you have multiple vehicles, capacities and time windows. Combine heuristic solvers with routing engines (e.g. OpenRouteService, GraphHopper) and local map data like SwissTopo to get realistic travel times and route constraints.
What does last‑mile optimisation aim for?
The goal is to cut distance, reduce driver hours and empty runs, and improve on‑time delivery. For Swiss SMEs this means fewer kilometres on motorways and better handling in cities like Zurich, Geneva and Basel.
Core algorithms: TSP vs VRP
TSP (Travelling Salesman Problem) finds the shortest tour for one driver. VRP (Vehicle Routing Problem) handles several vehicles and includes capacity, time windows and service times. VRP matches real delivery needs more closely.
Practical heuristics and extensions
Exact methods don’t scale well. Teams therefore use heuristics: Clarke‑Wright savings, Sweep, k‑means clustering, Tabu search or genetic algorithms. They give fast, near‑optimal routes that work in daily operations.
Swiss data and local constraints
Accurate travel times and road data matter. SwissTopo, cantonal roadworks information and historic trip logs improve results. Narrow old towns, pedestrian zones and parking limits in Lausanne or Bern affect real routes.
Tools: from open source to commercial SaaS
OpenRouteService and GraphHopper provide routing engines that work well with Swiss maps. OSRM is good for fast queries. For full VRP scheduling, commercial SaaS platforms add fleet management, APIs and live tracking. Check offline use, API costs and local data support.
A practical rollout plan
1) Collect delivery and vehicle data. 2) Define constraints: capacity, shifts, time windows. 3) Run heuristics on historical tours. 4) Evaluate open‑source vs SaaS for speed and usability. 5) Pilot in a single city or canton before wider rollout.
Frequently asked questions
When is TSP enough?
Use TSP if you optimise a single vehicle route with a small number of stops and no capacity or time constraints.
Do I need Swiss maps?
Yes. SwissTopo or locally tuned OSM data improves travel time accuracy and respects canton rules and one‑way streets.
Which KPIs matter?
Track total kilometres, driver hours, on‑time rate, empty runs and CO2 per delivery.
How to test without disrupting operations?
Start with simulations on historical data, then run pilot routes in a limited area such as one city or canton.