9. Conclusion

This brief review of a vast technical field, involving a wide variety of constantly evolving techniques, has revealed the magnitude of the process involved in establishing a manufacturing range. As a result, the technical and economic optimization of a routing is more of an art than a science. Traditionally, production planners had a wealth of experience behind them, usually gained in manufacturing, and knew how to integrate their knowledge intelligently without the need for computerized means. Today, with staff turnover becoming ever faster, it is going to be increasingly difficult to find experienced methods office preparers who will remain at their post for an extended period. We must therefore seek to develop new automatic assortment techniques, essentially based on the resources of artificial intelligence. Over the years, continuous efforts in this direction have been made in all industrially...