There is described a method for automatically supplying a dried reagent pellet (102) to each well of a cartridge comprising a plurality of wells, wherein the method comprises: (A) automatically positioning a pellet transfer head above a pellet supply reservoir containing a supply of dried reagent pellets, wherein the pellet transfer head comprises (i) a plurality of vacuum nozzles, wherein each vacuum nozzle comprises a downwardly-facing vacuum port in selective communication with a vacuum source and wherein the number and arrangement of the vacuum nozzles corresponds to the number and arrangement of wells of the cartridge and (ii) one or more downwardly-facing pressure ports in selective communication with a pressure source; (B) after step (A), automatically lowering the pellet transfer head to a pellet pickup position with respect to the pellet supply reservoir; (C) with the pellet transfer head in the pellet pickup position, activating the pressure source to supply gas flow at the one or more pressure ports of the pellet transfer head to fluidize the supply of pellets within the pellet supply reservoir and activating the vacuum source to create a vacuum at each vacuum port to draw a pellet from the pellet supply reservoir to each vacuum port; (D) after step (C), automatically raising the pellet transfer head from the pellet pickup position with respect to the pellet supply reservoir; (E) after step (D), automatically positioning the pellet transfer head within a field of view of a vision sensor camera; (F) after step (E), activating the vision sensor camera and a vision sensor system to detect whether a dried reagent pellet is disposed at each of the vacuum nozzles; (G) after step (F), automatically positioning the pellet transfer head above the cartridge so that each vacuum nozzle is aligned with a corresponding well of the cartridge; (H) after step (G), automatically lowering the pellet transfer head to a pellet dispensing position with respect to the cartridge; and (I) after step (H), deactivating the vacuum source to terminate the vacuum at each vacuum port to release the pellet from each vacuum nozzle into the corresponding well of the cartridge.