Serialization transformed pharmaceutical manufacturing.

It improved traceability, strengthened compliance, and enabled end-to-end product visibility across the supply chain. But for many manufacturers, serialization also introduced something less discussed: operational friction.

In a recent webinar hosted by OPTEL and Robotiq, automation experts explored a challenge many pharma sites now face:

How do you regain production efficiency after serialization and aggregation have slowed the line down?

The answer increasingly starts at the end of the line, with palletizing.

Serialization Solved Compliance, But Changed Line Dynamics
According to Olivier Laboissonniere, automation expert, serialization did more than add tracking systems.
It fundamentally changed how packaging lines operate.
Before serialization, packaging lines were largely flow-driven systems. Today, they are often exception-driven systems, requiring more:
Operational Changes
01
 System validations
02
 Operator interventions
03
 Communication between equipment
04
 Aggregation checks
05
 Troubleshooting events
The result is more micro-stops, slower recovery after interruptions, and increased variability in line performance.
OPTEL estimates that manufacturers commonly experience a 5–10% drop in OEE after serialization implementation, with some cases reaching as high as 30%.

Why Palletizing Became the Bottleneck
Many pharmaceutical lines are highly automated upstream.

But downstream operations – especially palletizing – often remain manual.
60–80%
 According to Olivier, 60–80% of palletizing operations are still performed manually in many pharma facilities.
That creates several operational risks:
Inconsistent pallet quality
Aggregation errors
Downtime from manual handling
Labor dependency
End-of-line bottlenecks
Rework and investigation events
Example
A simple example illustrates the issue:

A serialization system may correctly track every case on the line, but if operators manually palletize products inconsistently or place rejected cases incorrectly, traceability integrity can break down quickly.
This is where manufacturers are increasingly looking at collaborative robot (cobot) palletizing systems.
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Why Cobots Fit Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Traditional palletizing robots can be large, complex, and difficult to deploy in validated pharmaceutical environments.

Cobots offer a different approach.

Palletizing Is Also a Data Problem

In Pharma, Palletizing Is Also a Data Problem

One of the strongest points raised during the webinar was this:

Automating palletizing alone is not enough.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, palletizing must remain tightly connected to serialization and aggregation systems.

As Olivier explained:

“If you automate palletizing without handling aggregation properly, you’re not eliminating errors – you’re just automating them faster.”

A Real-World ROI Example

OPTEL shared a customer case involving a low-volume pharmaceutical line managing 25 SKUs with frequent changeovers.

Why Many Manufacturers Start with Palletizing

Practical Entry Point
Palletizing has become one of the most practical entry points for automation because it delivers measurable impact without redesigning the entire packaging line.
According to the webinar speakers, palletizing projects are attractive because they are:
 Operationally contained
Easier to validate
Faster to deploy
Directly tied to OEE improvement
Lower risk than full-line transformations
For many pharma sites, it is one of the clearest opportunities to recover efficiency lost after serialization.

Final Takeaway

The webinar makes one point very clear:

The future of pharmaceutical packaging is not just automated. It is integrated.

And increasingly, that integration starts with smarter palletizing.