The problem considered here is that of planning despatches of finished steel at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP). The despatch decisions have a strong impact on the fluidity of the finished steel loading area and on the formation of rake load shipments for various destinations. The despatch decision (also called as order processing in other industries) essentially requires the specifications of which of the items on stock will be allocated to which of the stockyards, on a daily basis, subject to the constraints of a minimum proportion of rake requirement as specified by the railways, supply-demand considerations, and wagon availability.