A system comprises an item collating conveyor operable to form a plurality of items into a plurality of groups and transports each group of items in series in a first generally longitudinal direction to an item transfer station. The system also has a container delivery conveyor and a robotic device. The container delivery conveyor moves a plurality of containers from a container input station to the transfer station and then to a container output station. The robotic device has an end effector adapted to transfer each said group of items carried from the item collating conveyor into successive containers. Each item of the group of items is loaded together into each container by the robotic device while each container is moving in the second generally longitudinal direction. A controller controls the operation of the industrial robot. The tray conveyor can be configured with a three spaced chains, and a series of releasable and attachable lugs attached to the medial chain. The lugs can be configured to support the path of the medial chain.