Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Studies

Abstract The complexity of the food supply chain is increasing and due to the elements, such as climatic and demographic changes, the management of perishable food itself contains various challenges. Despite the considerable potential of new hard and soft technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new business models in making food supply chain circular, the adoption of these related principles is in first steps. So, transformative elements during this path should be investigated to make it possible to determine a roadmap and set strategies to do performance enhancement based on special circumstances of developing countries. For this purpose, the principles to implement CE concept considering ReSOLVE framework in developing countries are determined by literature review and finalized by asking experts opinions. After that, Pythagorean Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (PF-DEMATEL) method is applied to do ranking of these principles while considering uncertainties. It has been determined that “Regeneration” is a basilar practice since without healthy ecosystems, endeavours to optimize processes or create loops are less effective and unsustainable in the long period. “Looping” gets the second rank since it builds its fundamentals on regenerative systems to ensure that resources within ecosystems are cycled and reused, reducing waste. “Optimization” of processes and value chains gets the third rank and seeks to enhance efficiency, ensuring that resources are used as effectively as possible. “Sharing” which is about technologies related to promoting equitable access to tools and knowledge, supports regeneration, optimization, and looping by enabling more participants to implement sustainable practices. That is why it gets the fourth rank in this study. At last, “Virtualization” and “Exchange” offer tools to enhance decision-making, collaboration, and efficiency and receive the fifth and sixth ranks. However, these practices rely on a stable foundation of well-managed resources and infrastructure to maximize their potential.