Fleet routing, warehouse operations, and last-mile delivery as quantum optimisation problems. QUBO formulations, QAOA, quantum annealing, and classical benchmarks on real logistics instances.
Full-day workshop on quantum optimisation for logistics operations. Covers vehicle routing as QUBO, warehouse pick-path optimisation via quantum annealing, last-mile delivery rerouting, and workforce scheduling with honest NISQ hardware benchmarks.
Logistics operations are built on combinatorial optimisation problems. Vehicle routing with capacity constraints and time windows, warehouse pick-path sequencing, container loading, workforce shift assignment: these are NP-hard or NP-complete problems where solution quality directly affects cost. Quantum computing offers a different computational approach to these problems through QUBO (Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimisation) formulations. This workshop teaches participants to formulate specific logistics problems as QUBOs, solve them using both quantum annealing (D-Wave Advantage, 5000+ qubits) and gate-based QAOA (Farhi et al. 2014), and benchmark results against established classical solvers like Google OR-Tools and Gurobi. Current quantum hardware handles roughly 150-200 fully connected variables after minor embedding, which limits practical problem sizes. The workshop is direct about these constraints while also covering quantum-inspired classical solvers (Fujitsu Digital Annealer, Toshiba SQBM+) that handle 100,000+ variables on existing infrastructure and may be the right near-term choice for many logistics organisations.
Full Day Workshop structure with scheduled breaks. Content is configurable to your organisation's fleet size, warehouse complexity, and operational priorities.
| # | Session | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logistics Optimisation as a Combinatorial Problem Why fleet routing, warehouse layout, and scheduling are quantum-amenable | |
| 2 | Quantum Algorithms for Routing and Scheduling QAOA, VQE, and quantum annealing applied to logistics operations |
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| Break, after 60 min | ||
| 3 | Warehouse and Last-Mile Operations Specific quantum formulations for inbound, storage, and delivery |
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| 4 | Interactive Demonstration Solving a 20-vehicle routing problem on quantum and classical hardware |
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| Break, after 90 min | ||
| 5 | Hardware Constraints and Honest Benchmarks What NISQ devices can solve today versus the fault-tolerant horizon |
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| 6 | Adoption Strategy and Vendor Landscape Connecting quantum research to operational logistics systems | |
| 7 | Q&A and Action Planning | |
Workshops are designed and delivered by QSECDEF in collaboration with sector specialists. All facilitators have direct experience in both quantum technologies and logistics systems.
Workshop design and delivery
QSECDEF brings world-leading expertise in post-quantum cryptography, quantum computing strategy, and defence-grade security assessment. Our advisory membership spans 600+ organisations and 1,200+ professionals working at the intersection of quantum technologies and critical infrastructure security.
Domain expertise and operational validation
Logistics workshops are co-delivered with sector specialists who bring direct operational experience in logistics organisations. This ensures workshop content is grounded in regulatory, operational, and technical realities specific to the sector.
Sessions are configured around your fleet composition, warehouse network, delivery constraints, and existing optimisation infrastructure. Get in touch to discuss requirements and schedule a date.
Contact UsQuantum technologies are evolving quickly and new developments emerge regularly. This page was last updated on 15/03/2026. For the most current information about course content and suitability for your organisation, we recommend contacting us directly.
