An apparatus for forming a collation of rod-shaped aerosol-generating articles is provided, including: multiple movable pockets, each pocket to house a collation having a number of layers of the articles; a number of hoppers forming a reservoir of the articles, each hopper to provide a respective transfer set of the articles to the collation; and a control system to control relative movement of the respective pocket with respect to the hoppers, the respective pocket to be arranged next to each hopper enabling transfer of the respective transfer set of the articles from the respective hopper to the respective pocket, a cumulative number of the articles in all transfer sets is greater than a number of the articles in the respective collation, and the control system is further to vertically move the pockets independently of each other relative to the hoppers and/or to move the hoppers independently of each other.

An apparatus for forming a collation of rod-shaped aerosol-generating articles is provided, including: multiple movable pockets, each pocket to house a collation having a number of layers of the articles; a number of hoppers forming a reservoir of the articles, each hopper to provide a respective transfer set of the articles to the collation; and a control system to control relative movement of the respective pocket with respect to the hoppers, the respective pocket to be arranged next to each hopper enabling transfer of the respective transfer set of the articles from the respective hopper to the respective pocket, a cumulative number of the articles in all transfer sets is greater than a number of the articles in the respective collation, and the control system is further to vertically move the pockets independently of each other relative to the hoppers and/or to move the hoppers independently of each other.

An apparatus for forming a collation of rod-shaped aerosol-generating articles is provided, including: multiple movable pockets, each pocket to house a collation having a number of layers of the articles; a number of hoppers forming a reservoir of the articles, each hopper to provide a respective transfer set of the articles to the collation; and a control system to control relative movement of the respective pocket with respect to the hoppers, the respective pocket to be arranged next to each hopper enabling transfer of the respective transfer set of the articles from the respective hopper to the respective pocket, a cumulative number of the articles in all transfer sets is greater than a number of the articles in the respective collation, and the control system is further to vertically move the pockets independently of each other relative to the hoppers and/or to move the hoppers independently of each other.