Variographic analysis: A new methodology for quality assurance of pharmaceutical blending processes

•Developed a NIR calibration model to predict low heterogeneity blends in 1-D sampling system.•Variographic characterization offers a possibility to not only describe significant variabilities, but also, to some degree, being able to identify their source(s).•Variographic characterization may be used to avoid over correcting a system due to measurement errors.•The sill and the variance of blends (intermediate precision) are very similar and both represent the variation from the entire sampling plus the mixing process.