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Dunnes Stores

Introduction


Dunnes Stores, Ireland’s largest retailer with 142 stores across Ireland, the UK, and Spain, employs nearly 15,000 people. Known for its unique combination of fashion, food, and homewares, Dunnes has been a cornerstone of Irish retail for over 70 years. In response to shifting market dynamics, the company embarked on a significant supply chain transformation aimed at enhancing agility, scalability, and efficiency across its operations.

Challenge

As Dunnes Stores sought to optimize and digitize its supply chain, the need for strong leadership to guide this transformation became critical. The challenge was to build a new supply chain function with leaders and managers capable of driving innovation and implementing best-in-class solutions. Dunnes required a team of experts who could oversee the comprehensive transformation initiative, from top-level strategy to hands-on execution.

Mandate

Principle was exclusively retained to build the entire supply chain transformation team, working closely with both Dunnes' senior leadership and external consultants, EY. The mandate was to recruit for key roles including:

  • Head of Transformation Supply Chain

  • Supply Chain Transformation Project Manager

  • Senior Inventory Control Manager

  • Logistics Solutions Manager

  • Transformation Analyst

This required Principle to find and secure high-caliber professionals capable of driving strategic supply chain initiatives, all while collaborating closely with the Dunnes leadership team and EY consultants.

Solution

Principle partnered closely with Dunnes Stores to design and develop detailed job descriptions and person specifications for each role. Through an extensive and rigorous search process, Principle identified top candidates not only in Ireland and the UK, but also across Europe and Australia.

The recruitment process involved initial screenings followed by the introduction of a small, highly qualified shortlist of candidates to EY consultants before they were introduced to the Dunnes leadership team. This tailored approach ensured that only the most suitable and capable candidates progressed through each stage of the selection process.

Result

Principle successfully filled all roles within the supply chain transformation team, achieving a 100% hiring success rate. The new team, consisting of strategic leaders and skilled managers, is now driving the supply chain transformation initiative at Dunnes, ensuring that the retailer remains at the forefront of innovation and operational excellence in the retail industry. This project underscores Principle HR's ability to deliver on complex, large-scale recruitment mandates for transformative business initiatives.