There is an almost infinite number of combinations possible for features on a car. This is true for many products, as Deere, a company that makes agricultural equipment, knows all too well. Deere’s customers demand all sorts of variations in planters. These different combinations of features make creating a good manufacturing schedule by hand all but impossible. Deere found that genetic algorithm software not only makes the task manageable but can compute the best schedule that offers the easiest and fastest way to utilize the production line to optimize production.

The initial stages of the huge project were very expensive, but the software gave the company a way to meet customer demand quickly and to gain competitive advantage. It worked so well for Deere that the company’s supplier, Auburn Consolidated Industries, is also using it and Deere is reaping the benefits of improved supply chain management.

As always, technology alone is not the answer. To benefit significantly from technology, the production and business processes have to be efficient and effective.