Logistics & supply chain optimization
Better loading. Better movement. Better decisions
4colors helps logistics teams use capacity better and coordinate transport. Its algorithms plan loading, routing and timing across the supply chain.
Winner of the Airbus x BMW Quantum-Powered Logistics track and ROADEF/EURO Renault finalist.
The fullest truck isn't always the best load
A shipment may use nearly every cubic foot of space but contain goods that cannot be safely stacked or unloaded in delivery order. Another plan may pack perfectly but send parts to a factory days before they are needed.
Good logistics optimization considers what fits, what moves, when it arrives and how those decisions affect one another.
Ten stores supplied from three warehouses.Bars: each warehouse's load; the tick is its capacity. Red: over capacity, or a store served late.
Late shipments1
Warehouses over capacity1 of 3
Illustrative example, not customer data.
Loading, movement and timing as one system
Packing and vehicle loading
Arrange cargo within three-dimensional space while respecting weight, orientation, compatibility, stacking and unloading requirements. Loading decisions can affect how many vehicles are required and which deliveries each can serve.
Routing and fleet planning
Find useful routes within delivery windows, vehicle capacities, driving constraints and service priorities. The shortest route isn't always feasible, and the least expensive journey isn't always the best customer outcome.
Integrated supply-chain planning
Coordinate production, inventory and transportation choices when optimizing one stage in isolation pushes cost or delay onto another. Explore alternatives that improve the overall plan rather than a single metric.
How 4colors can help
From the solver engine to ready-made planning apps, pick the level that suits your team.
4colors Optimizer
The solver engine behind every 4colors product. A portfolio of search methods for hard planning decisions in routing, loading, scheduling and allocation, from Python or the API.
Optimizer for Scheduling
Advanced scheduling algorithms for the software you build to manage jobs, machines, people and resources. Due dates, setups and shared resources sit in one model.
Planning Applications
Takt, Roster and Stride bring optimization to production, shift and project planning. When a rush order lands or someone calls in sick, each re-plans within your rules.
Custom Optimization
Original models and algorithms built around your own resources, rules and objectives. We work with your team from the first prototype to a planner that runs in your systems.
Relevant work
See the ROADEF/EURO Renault finalist summary| Finalist
Renault truck-loading challenge
An earlier generation of our algorithms tackled three-dimensional loading, placement and transport decisions.
Winner
| Airbus x BMW Quantum Computing Challenge.
Our solution combined production and transportation optimization into one connected challenge model.
Why logistics decisions belong together
Explore more use cases- Industry article
Transportation and Logistics: The Journey Is Only Part of the Problem
The shortest route can be the wrong route, and the fullest truck can be the wrong load.
Read more - Use case
The Shortest Route Is Not Always the Best Route
The map tells us how to get somewhere. The delivery plan has to decide how the whole day will work.
Explore the use case - Use case
Everything Fits on Paper. Will It Fit in the Truck?
A loading plan is easy to judge badly. Add up the volume of the items, compare it with the volume of the vehicle and declare that there is enough room.
Explore the use case - Guide
From Enterprise Data to Better Decisions
The hard part of integrating an optimizer is often deciding which facts the next decision can trust.
Read the guide