Dr Erica Ballantyne

BSc, MSc, PhD

Management School

Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management

Head of the Operations Management and Decision Sciences Research Centre

e.e.ballantyne@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 3378

Room C096, Sheffield University Management School

Full contact details

Dr Erica Ballantyne
Management School
Room C096
Sheffield University Management School
Conduit Road
Sheffield
S10 1FL

Profile

Erica Ballantyne has lectured in Operations and Supply Chain Management since 2015 at the University of Sheffield Management School (SUMS). She leads the Logistics & Supply Chain Management Research Theme within the Operations Management & Decision Sciences Research Centre.

Erica gained her PhD (EPSRC sponsored) at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS), University of Leeds, and her thesis examined ‘The Benefits of Integrating Freight Logistics into Urban Transport Demand Management Measures & Policy’. Graduating from Cardiff University with a BSc Hons in Business Administration & Transport Management, and an MSc (with distinction) in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the University of Hull. She was successfully accepted on to a Graduate Management Scheme at a major European 3PL, and gained further industry experience working for ASDA and other leading supply chain contractors.

Prior to joining SUMS, Erica was employed at the University of Bolton (2012 – 2015), initially as a Lecturer then Senior Lecturer in a wide range of business subjects at undergraduate to MBA level. Erica was promoted to Academic Group Leader for Business, Accountancy and Law.

Erica holds a PG Certificate in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2014 she completed Advance HE’s (formerly The Leadership Foundation) Aurora Programme ‘Developing Future Leaders for Higher Education’ for women in leadership in HE.

Erica is a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and is an active committee member of the South Yorkshire CILT group.

Research interests

Principle areas of research interest include:

Efficient and sustainable transport with electric vehicles and transport application for energy storage
Reverse logistics and Retail Returns Management
Transport planning and Management Decision Making
Logistics and freight transport operations, with an emphasis on urban and last mile contexts

The applied and interdisciplinary nature of my research, and my belonging to a wide network of academics, logistics and retail practitioners, LA Transport Planners and policy makers, is integral to my work and research impact. This is demonstrated through my involvement with various funded collaborative research projects, for example time spent on secondment at Stockholm Stad. My research in Urban Freight Transport has been cited in government policy documents in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Erica’s involvement with national and international research projects includes:

Joint Principal Investigator for “Fleet energy optimisation in the Sheffield City Region”, funded by EPSRC IAA (University of Sheffield Knowledge Exchange Fund) (2019-2020).
Co-Investigator for “MoVE (Mobilising Volunteers Effectively)” a research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of the rapid response COVID-19 research programme (2020-2021).
WP lead and Co-Investigator for “Promoting Sustainable Freight Transport in urban context: Policy & Decision-making Approaches (ProSFeT)”, funded by the EU H2020-MCSA-RISE-2016 Scheme (2017-2019).
Principal Investigator for “The Business of Location: Transport Planning for the Logistics workforce”, funded by the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport UK (2016-2018).
Principal Investigator and Coordinator for “Investigating opportunities for sustainable freight transport (REINVEST)”, funded by the EU Commission, EU-India collaboration project (2015-2018).

Publications

Journal articles

McKinney TR, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA (2023) A data-driven travel demand model to predict electric vehicle energy consumption: focusing on the rural demographic in the UK. Transportation Planning and Technology. View this article in WRRO
McKinney TR, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA (2023) Rural EV charging: the effects of charging behaviour and electricity tariffs. Energy Reports, 9, 2321-2334.
Dodd N, Goodall R, Ballantyne E & Heron G (2022) Modelled optimisation approaches for laser cutting sheets simultaneously applied to EV component production. PLoS ONE, 17(10).
Guenat S, Purnell P, Davies ZG, Nawrath M, Stringer LC, Babu GR, Balasubramanian M, Ballantyne EEF, Bylappa BK, Chen B , De Jager P et al (2022) Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems. Nature Communications, 13.
Sit KJ, Ballantyne E & Gorst J (2022) Profiling shoppers’ coping behaviours during a pandemic crisis : a regulatory focus perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 64. View this article in WRRO
Munoz MN, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA (2021) Development and evaluation of empirical models for the estimation of hourly horizontal diffuse solar irradiance in the United Kingdom. Energy.
Dunlop P & Ballantyne EEF (2021) Effective and responsible marketing of online sports gambling to young adults in the UK. SN Business & Economics, 1(10). View this article in WRRO
Thiery H, Cook J, Burchell J, Ballantyne E, Walkley F & McNeill J (2021) ‘Never more needed’ yet never more stretched: reflections on the role of the voluntary sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Voluntary Sector Review, 12(3), 459-465. View this article in WRRO
Ballantyne E & Thiery H (2021) Food in the time of coronavirus. Logistics and Transport Focus, Volume 23(No.3), 34-35.
Zhang T, Ballantyne EEF, Zhao R & Stone DA (2021) Technical and economic feasibility of increasing tram system efficiency with EV batteries. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 91. View this article in WRRO
Zhao R, Stincescu T, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA (2020) Sustainable city : energy usage prediction method for electrified refuse collection vehicles. Smart Cities, 3(3), 1100-1116.
Zhang T, Zhao R, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA (2020) Increasing urban tram system efficiency, with battery storage and electric vehicle charging. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 80. View this article in WRRO
Stone D, Foster M, Ballantyne E & Price H (2020) A low cost, rapid impedance measurement technique suitable for Li-ion health diagnosis in battery energy storage systems. International Journal of Smart Grid and Clean Energy, 9(2), 346-356. View this article in WRRO
Ballantyne E & Heron G (2020) Can transport operator schemes deliver regional sustainability benefits? The case of the UK Northern Powerhouse region. Sustainability, 12(4). View this article in WRRO
Reddy KN, Kumar A & Ballantyne EEF (2018) A three-phase heuristic approach for reverse logistics network design incorporating carbon footprint. International Journal of Production Research, 1-25. View this article in WRRO
Tob-Ogu A, Cullen J, Kumar N & Ballantyne E (2018) Sustainability Intervention Mechanisms for Managing Road Freight Transport Externalities: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 10(6). View this article in WRRO
Ballantyne EE & Heron G (2017) Brexit: Are you ready?. Logistics and Transport Focus, 19(4), 42-43.
Lindholm M & Ballantyne EEF (2016) Introducing Elements of Due Diligence in Sustainable Urban Freight Transport Planning. Transportation Research Procedia, 12, 66-78. View this article in WRRO
Ballantyne EEF, Lindholm M & Whiteing A (2013) A comparative study of urban freight transport planning: addressing stakeholder needs. Journal of Transport Geography, 32, 93-101.
Ballantyne EEF & Boodoo A (2010) Freight in an Eco-town: How does freight fit into eco-town planning?. Logistics and Transport Focus, 12(6), 28-32.
Naderi M, Palmer D, Smith MJ, Ballantyne EEF, Stone DA, Foster MP, Gladwin DT, Khazali A, Al-Wreikat Y, Cruden A & Fraser E () Techno-Economic Planning of a Fully Renewable Energy-Based Autonomous Microgrid with Both Single and Hybrid Energy Storage Systems. Energies, 17(4), 788-788.
Dodd N, Ballantyne E, Heron G & Goodall R () Multi-layer laser cutting of electrical steel sheets applied to electric machine laminations. PLOS ONE, 18(7), e0288232-e0288232.
Ballantyne E, Stone D, Stone E & Zhang T () EV’s as energy storage on urban light rail systems — A synergy of requirements. Energy Reports, 9, 467-476.
Munoz MN, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA () Assessing the Economic Impact of Introducing Localised PV Solar Energy Generation and Energy Storage for Fleet Electrification. Energies, 16(8), 3570-3570.
Gorst J & Ballantyne E () Retail returns: Turning costs into profit at a UK 3PL. JOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, LOGISTICS AND PROCUREMENT, 3(3).
Heron G & Ballantyne E () The relevance of transport operator schemes to the Northern Powerhouse and Transport for the North. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Transport. View this article in WRRO

Chapters

Burchell J, Cook J, Thiery H, Ballantyne E, Walkley F & Nikolova S (2022) Shifting sands: challenges and opportunities for the voluntary sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 and the Voluntary and Community Sector in the UK (pp. 77-90). Policy Press
Burchell J, Cook J, Thiery H, Ballantyne E, Walkley F & Nikolova S (2022) Shifting sands: Challenges and opportunities for the voluntary sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 and the Voluntary and Community Sector in the UK: Responses, Impacts and Adaptation (pp. 77-90).
Burchell J, Cook J, Thiery H, Ballantyne E, Walkley F & Nikolova S (2022) Shifting sands: challenges and opportunities for the voluntary sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 and the Voluntary and Community Sector in the UK (pp. 77-90). Policy Press
Ballantyne E & Heron G (2019) Freight transport, storage and distribution organisations to be able to identify customer requirements In Wilding R (Ed.), Supply Chains in Action: A Case Study Collection in Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement and Operations Management Kogan Page
Heron G, Ballantyne E, Oglethorpe D & Morley M (2019) The Same But Different: A Comparative Analysis of Common Reverse Logistics and Closed Loop Supply Chain Issues in the UK Multiple Retail Sector In Wilding R (Ed.), Supply Chains in Action - A Case Study Collection in Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement & Operations Management London: Kogan Page.
Ballantyne EEF & Lindholm M (2014) Identifying the Need for Freight to be Included in Local Authority Transport Planning In Gonzalez-Feliu J (Ed.), Sustainable Urban Logistics: Concepts, Methods and Information Systems (pp. 37-48). Springer Science & Business Media
Ballantyne E & Heron G () 'You want it where?’ - How a holistic and end to end sustainable logistics strategy can inform manufacturing plant location decisions In Bak O (Ed.), Sustainable and Green Supply Chains Kogan Page

Conference proceedings papers

Ballantyne E, McBride F & Stone D (2023) Charging Urban Fleet Electric Vehicles Via Light Rail System Power Grids. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference, 6 September 2023 - 8 September 2023.
Ballantyne E, Heron G & Kien T (2023) Achieving Sustainable Freight Transport In Vietnam Using Earned Recognition Schemes. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference
Ballantyne E, Stincescu T & Stone D (2023) A Simulation Study To Understand Energy Usage Requirements Of Electric Bus Fleets. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference, 6 September 2023 - 8 September 2023.
Ballantyne E, McKinney T & Stone D (2023) Understanding The Rural Demographics Need For Electric Vehicles. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference, 6 September 2023 - 8 September 2023.
Ballantyne E, Stone D, Nunez Munoz M & Stincescu T (2023) Using locally generated renewable energy to charge depot based electric freight fleets. World Conference on Transport Research - WCTR 2023, 17 July 2023 - 21 July 2023.
Ballantyne E, Stincescu T, Stone D, Zhao R & Foster M (2023) Predicting Energy Use of an Electric Vehicle using Vehicle Dashcam Telemetry Data. World Conference on Transport Research - WCTR 2023 Montreal, Canada, 17 July 2023 - 21 July 2023.
Ballantyne E, Sit K & Gorst J (2023) Consumers’ Price Sensitivity (CPS) During Times of a Financial-Hardship Event: A Critical Literature Review. 8th Colloquium on European Research in Retailing 2023 (pp 99-104). https://cerr.sciencesconf.org/
Ballantyne E, Stincescu T & Stone D (2022) Pallet-Sized, Hot-Swappable Battery Packs for Electric HGV Range Extension. Logistics Research Network Conference 2022 Supply Chain Innovation: People, Process, Technology
Ballantyne E, Nunez Munoz M & Stone D (2022) Impact on Annual Electricity Cost of Introducing Battery Energy Storage at a Warehouse. Logistics Research Network Conference 2022 Supply Chain Innovation: People, Process, Technology (pp 100-106)
Stincescu T, Zhao R, Ballantyne EEF, Stone DA & Foster MP (2021) Matlab-based High-Performance Electric Motorbike Energy Model, Utilising Video Data. 2021 Sixteenth International Conference on Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies (EVER), 5 May 2021 - 7 May 2021.
Zhao R, Stincescu T, Ballantyne EEF, Stone DA & Foster MP (2021) Dashcam Video-Driven, Route Distinctive Energy Consumption Pre-Evaluation for Electrifying Public Services Fleets. 2021 Sixteenth International Conference on Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies (EVER), 5 May 2021 - 7 May 2021.
Ballantyne E, Stone D, Foster M & Price H (2020) A Low Cost, Rapid Impedance Measurement Technique Suitable for Li-ion Health Diagnosis in Battery Energy Storage Systems. International Conference on Smart Grids and Energy, 27 April 2019 - 30 May 2019.
Zhang T, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA (2019) Fully integrated EV energy storage using transport infrastructure. 2019 International Conference on Clean Electrical Power (ICCEP), 2 July 2019 - 4 July 2019.
Ballantyne E & Heron G (2018) The Role of Applied Theory to Deliver Safety, Compliance, Air Quality & Competitive Benefits to the UK Road Freight Transport Sector. 23rd Annual Logistics Research Network Conference Proceedings. UK, 5 September 2018 - 7 September 2018.
Heron G & Ballantyne E (2016) THE CASE FOR FREIGHT OPERATOR RECOGNITION SCHEMES AS BUSINESS READINESS QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR THE NORTHERN POWERHOUSE TRANSPORT AGENDA. Logistics Research Network Conference 2016 Proceedings. UK
Naderi M, Palmer D, Nunez Munoz M, Al-Wreikat Y, Matt S, Fraser E, Gladwin D, Foster M, Ballantyne E & Stone D () Modelling and sizing sensitivity analysis of a fully renewable energy-based electric vehicle charging station microgrid. EVI: Charging Ahead Conference
Heron G & Ballantyne E () The Development of Mid-Range Theory to Deliver Sustainable Organisational Change in the Road Freight Transport Sector: Evidence from the UK.. Proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Sustainable Road Freight Transport, 5 December 2019 - 6 December 2019.
Nunez Munoz M, Ballantyne E & Stone D () On-site PV generation to support local fleet vehicle charging. 26th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference, 8 September 2021 - 10 September 2021.
Stincescu T, Zhao R, Ballantyne E & Stone D () Understanding Fleet Energy Use of Electric Refuse Collection Vehicles in Urban Environments. 26th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference, 8 September 2021 - 10 September 2021.
Zhao R, Stincescu T, Ballantyne E & Stone D () Energy Usage and Sustainability Prediction for Electrified Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) – A City-Distinctive Pre-Deployment Solution. 26th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference, 8 September 2021 - 10 September 2021.

Reports

Nunez Munoz M, Ballantyne EEF & Stone DA (2022) Case study: Understanding the solar power potential at a Sheffield manufacturing and engineering firm View this article in WRRO

Posters

Ballantyne E, Zhang T & Stone D (2019) Fully integrated EV energy storage using transport infrastructure. All Energy 2019.

Presentations

Nunez Munoz M, Ballantyne E & Stone D Exploring the benefits of using locally generated solar energy, supported by a BESS, in reducing Well-to-Tank emissions associated with electric road freight fleets. Cambridge.
Ballantyne EEF, Simpson M & Whitehead C Can the internet of things improve the sustainability of road freight transport operations?. Groupe Sup de Co La Rochelle, France.
Simpson M, Ballantyne E & Fatorachian H Can the Internet of Things improve the sustainability of road freight transport operations?. University of Hull.
Ballantyne EEF & Lindholm M Using due diligence to improve the urban freight planning process. Aston & Birmingham City Universities, UK.
Ballantyne EEF & Lindholm M The future of freight transport planning with the use of Due Diligence: Findings from a European Delphi Study. University of Huddersfield, UK.
Ballantyne EEF, Marsden G & Whiteing AE Investigating the impacts of urban transport policies on essential freight operations. The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Ballantyne EEF & Lindholm M How local authorities can include freight in their transport planning process. Cranfield University, UK.
Ballantyne EEF, Marsden G & Whiteing AE An analysis of local authority views and treatment of urban freight in the UK. The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Ballantyne EEF, Marsden G & Whiteing AE Urban freight in the UK: Analysing the contrast between local authority and freight operator perspectives. Harstad, Norway.

Other

Ballantyne E & Gorst J (2022) Black Friday: so many online returns end up in landfill – here’s what needs to happen to change that.
Ballantyne EE, Heron G & Vincent I (2017) Fleet Operator Recognition Schemes: A management science approach for competitive advantage, the Northern Powerhouse Freight Strategy and Brexit.
Heron G & Ballantyne E (2017) Brexit: Are you Ready?.
Ballantyne E, Gorst J, Bernon M, Meira J & Cullen J () VIEW from Academia — A Toolkit to help manage Reverse Logistics. REVERSE LOGISTICS MAGAZINE, 4(14), 44-44.

Research group

Operations Management and Decision Sciences (OMDS)

Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Sustainable Production and Consumption

Teaching activities

Erica has a range of teaching experience across UG, PG, and Executive Education portfolios, her research interests and industry experiences inform research-led teaching across all modules she is involved with.

Erica is currently leading and delivering:

MGT6081 Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chain Management (MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management)
Dissertation supervision for MSc LSCM and MSc Management

Since joining SUMS, Erica has developed and led the following modules:

MGT6196 Process and Organisational Improvement (Executive MBA)
MGT6224 Pathways to Decision making in Different Environments (PG Cert in Leadership & Management for Social Workers)
MGT3013 Supply Chain Management (Degree Apprenticeship at AMRC)
MGT253 Principles of Operations Management (BA Business Management)

In addition to internal posts, Erica holds a number of subject specialist External Examining roles.

PhD Supervision

Erica currently supervises a number of inter-disciplinary doctoral students. She is interested in supervising PhD students in the fields of:

Logistics
Freight Transport
Sustainable Logistics
Transport Applications