The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a combinatorial optimization and
integer programming problem which asks "What is the optimal set of routes for
a fleet of vehicles to traverse in order to deliver to a given set of
customers?" The problem first appeared, as the truck dispatching problem ,
in a paper by George Dantzig and John Ramser in 1959, in which it was applied
to petrol deliveries. Often, the context is that of delivering goods located
at a central depot to customers who have placed orders for such goods.
However, variants of the problem consider, e.g, collection of solid waste and
the transport of the elderly and the sick to and from health-care facilities.
The standard objective of the VRP is to minimise the total route cost.