GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 22, 2026

transport planning methods

Transport planning methods are systematic mathematical and algorithmic techniques for optimising freight operations: which shipment travels on which route, with which vehicle, and at what time.

Quick Answer

Last updated: 22 June 2026Published: 19 June 2025

Source: https://www.bvl.de/fachwissen/logistikwissen/transport/transportplanung

Category

Logistics Concept

Reading time

1 min

Words

114

Mentioned in

–

Definition & Explanation

Transport planning methods are systematic mathematical and algorithmic techniques for optimising freight operations: which shipment travels on which route, with which vehicle, and at what time. They apply wherever capacity constraints, cost targets, and service levels must be balanced simultaneously – in road freight, parcel delivery, and distribution logistics alike. Established approaches include vehicle routing (the Vehicle Routing Problem), load planning, time-window scheduling, and carrier selection. The fundamental distinction is between exact methods, which seek a mathematically proven optimum but demand significant computing resources, and heuristics, which produce near-optimal solutions rapidly and are therefore preferred in day-to-day dispatch. Modern transport management systems typically combine both approaches to raise vehicle utilisation and safeguard delivery performance.