The pharmaceutical and biotech industry has expressed clear imperatives when it comes to automation. According to Pharmaceutical Manufacturing’s Smart Pharma survey, in 2021 88% of pharma manufacturers believe their company will choose to immediately automate processes if given the option and approximately 90% said they had already begun broader transformation efforts. Here, Boy Tjoa at Tjoapack explores the ifs and whys of when to automate packaging lines and how to balance the design and flexibility of lines to serve all the needs of different customers.