Success factors for resilience management in the food sector : addressing production and cleaning processes

This study identifies key success factors for resilience management in the food industry and enhances the Resilience Evaluator for the Food Industry (REFIT) by incorporating productionrelated aspects.The success factors are categorised into four dimensions: strategic (top management support, integration with risk and quality management), operational (crossdepartment collaboration, standardised processes), technological (monitoring, AI-driven analytics), and cultural (risk awareness, continuous learning).Validation in two companies highlighted the need for better integration with existing management systems and clearer evaluation criteria.Based on these insights, REFIT was expanded to systematically assess hygienic design, fouling prevention, and cleaning efficiency, enabling more precise resilience evaluations and targeted measures.However, broader validation is needed.Future research should enhance integration with risk management tools and assess the long-term economic impact of resilience measures.The findings emphasise that resilience must be strategically embedded to help companies proactively manage disruptions.