Solving Pharma’s Workforce Crunch with Smart Automation

Pharmaceutical companies are being asked to move faster and handle more complexity than ever—yet the workforce needed to support that growth is shrinking. Pharmacy Times reports pharmacy school enrollment has fallen over 35% since 2011, and burnout continues to push experienced people out of the field. Hiring isn’t keeping up, and even when positions are filled, repetitive workloads lead to fatigue, errors, and turnover. The issue isn’t a lack of talent—it’s a system drowning that talent in manual work.

Automation offers a practical way forward. By taking repetitive tasks off employees’ plates—whether it’s replenishing high-volume A-frame dispensing systems, transporting bins, or sorting product—pharmaceutical companies can protect their people while increasing throughput and reliability. Automated replenishment alone can eliminate manual staging, walking, and repetitive lifting, allowing robots to deliver, orient, and load bins directly into the dispenser. Inside the distribution center, the Macrovey’s Autonomous Warehouse System expands that same impact across material handling by automating sorting, kitting, loading, and movement, freeing teams to focus on oversight and problem-solving instead of nonstop physical execution.

But demand isn’t steady, and even efficient facilities get overwhelmed during launches, spikes, or urgent events. Instead of scrambling for temporary labor or rushing to expand a building, companies can extend automation beyond the warehouse with Macrovey’s Mobile Warehouse System (MWS). This fully autonomous, trailer-based system deploys in days and adds instant, cold-chain-ready capacity with up to 600 robotic picks per hour—without adding headcount.

Utilizing robotics in both a fixed & mobile capacity can create a scalable, resilient model: automation handles the repetitive motion, humans handle the judgment, and operations stay steady—even when staffing doesn’t. The workforce shortage may take time to resolve, but pharma doesn’t have time to wait. By removing the work that burns people out, pharmaceutical companies can support their teams, protect accuracy, and keep products moving without disruption.