swg_tdr - that is the correct view on how these products get prepared and dispensed from manufacturing through end point. There are variations - and they are set to address or mitigate logistics, cost, quality and risk elements. What works for one company or product may not work for another, while the approach taken in a specific geography with great results, may prove to be a disaster in another for a variety of reasons.
Key is - properly planned and executed, the solution set always looks at guaranteeing, to the degree possible, end-state requirements. Those are driven by regulatory. Second is financial - of course by budgets, market, circumstances. Third of course is practicalities and big picture for the subject company.
Now - you touched on my third rail pet peeve...
While I live in the US I am a fully metric thinking/acting individual and, for the life of me, while holding the US in great regard on so many levels, will never understand why our bass ackwards measurement system is not urgently dumped and replaced by the metric system.
I am aware of a multitude of the excuses, and am still working on categorizing them in groups of 1/64th of a 1/16 of a pound...
Best,
MH