In practice, transport and production planning are often handled separately, even though they strongly influence each other. This leads to unnecessary costs, inefficient use of vehicles and production capacity, and extra emissions. The AI-BIPTO project (Artificial Intelligence-Boosted Integrated Production and Transport Optimization) developed mathematical tools to better align production and transport planning, contributing to two open-source software packages.

PyVRP offers advanced optimisation algorithms for more efficient route planning, from daily delivery scheduling to long-term fleet analysis, and is downloaded more than 40,000 times a month worldwide, used across sectors including e-commerce, food and beverage, and waste management. PyJobShop makes advanced production planning methods accessible to the manufacturing and processing industry; in an industrial pilot, the software cut production lead times by up to 10 percent compared with manual planning.

By making the software publicly available, AI-BIPTO enables companies, students and researchers to use and build on the latest optimisation methods. The TKI Dinalog Impact Award recognises significant contributions to logistics in the Netherlands; the winner was announced during the “Future of Logistics” congress on September 29, 2026, in Amersfoort, based on a combination of public vote and jury assessment.