Apparatus (200, 300, 400) for component positioning comprises at least one receptacle (212, 412) configured to receive a number of components (103) to be placed on a target substrate (108, 111), agitator (210, 410) configured to exert force impulses, such as abrupt force impulses, on the receptacle so as to cause the components to change their position inside the receptacle, inspection equipment (216, 316, 416) configured to verify the position of the components inside the receptacle, and pick and place equipment (206, 306, 406) configured to pick one or more components from the receptacle that fulfil a predefined position criterion and place the components on the target substrate. A related method for component positioning is presented.