Dr Helen Benton

Dr Helen Benton received her PhD in Management from Aston University. Her research focuses on supply chains and sustainability. She was awarded Principal Fellowship of AdvancedHE for her contribution to higher education.

helen.benton@aru.ac.uk

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Background

Helen has been involved in numerous research and consultancy projects. She is currently working on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Hexcel Composites Ltd. This project will develop a toolkit and processes for developing sustainability in their supply chain. She led a KTP rated “Outstanding” by Innovate UK in supply chain improvement with Hexcel. She has also worked on a Low-Carbon KEEP knowledge transfer project which created a sustainable auditing process for an SME.

She has also been funded by HEFCE and the university for her research in business and management education. She has also led a variety of projects in this area for innovation, technology-enhanced learning and student experience.

Research interests

Helen's research interests focus on managing and improving supply chains from an efficiency and effectiveness point of view. Past projects have focused on creating sustainable supply chains and how data and IT can improve supply chain coordination. She has been involved in knowledge transfer work to reduce carbon, working with SMEs. She has a particular interest in sustainable operations and supply chains. Alongside this interest in supply chains, Helen has also been involved in pedagogical research, having been awarded funds from HEFCE to innovate the team based learning approach and from the university to improve student experience.

• Sustainability
• Sustainable supply chain
• Lifecycle assessment
• Net zero
• Circular economy
• Sustainable fashion
• Supply chain management
• Digital supply chains
• Business education
• Technology-enhanced learning
• Project management

Areas of research supervision

• PhD First supervision in progress. Hassiba Fadli: Evaluating the Impact of Designed Thinking Education for Sustainability on Business Students in U.K. 
• PhD First supervision in progress. Felix Strebel: :Practice-oriented bachelor theses. Supervision, Benefit for Companies and Framework
• Completed PhD supervision. Romas Malevicius: Education for sustainable development in business and management studies: learning history of the GoGreen Pilot'12.
• Completed PhD supervision. Dr Basim Al-Jabhan: Supply chain risk management: A case study on the maritime transport firms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Completed PhD supervision. Dr Stephen Nwanchor Elem: Transformation towards Sustainable Living under Global Education System - International Students' Experience.
• Completed PhD supervision. Dr Eze Ogbonnia Eze: Exploring international students’ experiences of studying in UK universities: a narrative inquiry of Nigerian students.
• Completed PhD supervision. Dr Brynn Deprey: The Internationalisation Process of Small and Medium Sized Management Consultancies in the UK.
• Supervised numerous Bachelors and Masters level dissertations in the areas of: e-business, general business, logistics, supply chain management and sustainability.
  
   

Teaching

Helen has taught undergraduates, postgraduates and professionals in the areas of: supply chain management, sustainability, project management and operations management. She has lead BSc and Masters courses and large international modules. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a University Teaching Fellow.

Qualifications

• PhD in Management Research, Aston Business School. Title of PhD thesis: A Process Framework For Selecting Supply System Architecture In Manufacturing Supply Chains And Networks
• Principal Fellow of AdvanceHE
• Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, Aston University
• BSc in Managerial and Administrative Studies 2.1, Aston Business School.

Memberships, editorial boards

• Principal Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Member, Association for Project Management
• Member, Project Management Institute

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

• Academic Supervisor, Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Hexcel Corporation, project funded: £173,418 by Innovate UK and Hexcel, April 2022 - April 2024
• Co-investigator, HEFCE Catalyst Fund, working on employer informed team based learning for postgraduates, project funded: £37,697, Dec, 2016 – Apr, 2018.
• Principal Investigator, Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Hexcel Corporation, project funded: £185,000 by Innovate UK and Hexcel, Jul, 2015-Jan, 2018.
• Academic Co-Leader, Low-Carbon KEEP with Llewellyn Smith, project funded: £79,253.36, Sept, 2014 - Sept, 2015.
• Project Manager, Poll Everywhere: engaging students with in-class response activities and formative assessment, project funded: £6,000, Sept, 2014 - Jun, 2015.
• Project Leader and Manager, Small Module Feel: Using Digital Technology for Engagement in Large Modules in LAIBS, project funded: £3,498, Sept, 2014 - Jun, 2015.
• Developer, Project Management Course for Russian Railways, Aug - Dec, 2013.
• Consultant, Go Green, 18 month project for the Higher Education Academy, project funded £92,330.00 Jul, 2012 - May, 2014.
  
   

Selected recent publications

Benton, H.M., Wilding, B., Bailey, K., Blance, M. and Holly, D., 2016. Aligning Manufacturing Strategies with Complexity Factors in The Aerospace Supply Chain. In: 5th World Conference on Production and Operations Management: Joining P&OM forces worldwide: Present and future of Operations Management. Havana, Cuba, 6-10 September 2016.

Benton, H.M., Wilding, B., Bailey, K., Blance, M., 2016. Manufacturing strategy decisions in a complex aerospace supply chain. In: 23rd EurOMA (European Operations Management Association): Interactions. Trondheim, Norway, 17-22 June 2016

Benton, H.M., 2009. Archival Case Study Analysis of the Issues in Selecting Information and ICT Systems for Supply Chains. In: APMS (Advances in Production Management Systems), International IFIP WG 5.7 Conference: New Challenges, New Approaches. Bordeaux, France, 21-23 September 2009. Bordeaux: Springer.

Benton, H.M., Binder, M. and Wolfgang Egel-Hess, W., 2007. Benchmarking to promote learning in supply chains. International Journal of Learning and Change, 2(2) pp. 149-165.

Albores, P., Love, D.M., Weaver, M. Stone, J. and Benton, H., 2006. An evaluation of SCOR modelling techniques and tools. In: EuroMOT (European Conference on the Management of Technology), 2^nd European Conference on Technology and Global Integration. Birmingham, UK, 10-12 September 2006, Vol. 1, pp. 16-24.

Benton, H.M. Binder, M. and Egel-Hess, W., 2006. Benchmarking operations: a means to organisational learning in supply chain management? In: EurOMA European Operations Management Association, 13th International Annual EurOMA Conference: Moving up the Value Chain, Glasgow, Scotland, 18-21 June 2006, Vol. 1 pp. 111-120.

Benton, H.M. and Love, D.M., 2006. Supply Chain Systems: A Framework for Selection. In: EurOMA European Operations Management Association, 13th International Annual EurOMA Conference: Moving up the Value Chain, Glasgow, Scotland, 18-21 June 2006, pp. 121-130.

Benton, H.M. and Love, D.M., 2006. Holistic Supply Chain Systems Framework, IPSERA (International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association) 15th Annual IPSERA Conference, San Diego, CA, 6-8 April 2006. CD ISBN: 0-9779673-0-1.

Al-Kilani, M., Benton, H.M. and McDonald, S., 2006. Assessment as a facilitator of autonomous learning. UCLT (University Centre for Learning and Teaching), Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, Chelmsford, UK, 12 September 2006. Chelmsford: Anglia Ruskin University.

Tang, N., Benton, H.M., Love, D., Albores, P., Ball, P., MacBryde, J. Boughton, N. and Drake, P., 2004. Developing an enterprise simulator to support electronic supply chain management for B2B electronic business. International Journal of Production Planning and Control, 16 (5), pp. 572-583.

Recent presentations and conferences

Benton, H., Acevedo, B., Malevicius, R. 2022 (under review). SMEs in Motorsports: What is driving their journey to sustainability? BAM2022 Conference on reimagining business and management as a force for good. Manchester, UK, 31 August - 2 September 2022. Manchester: Alliance Manchester Business School

Benton, H., Acevedo, B., Malevicius, R. 2022 (under review). Using lifecycle assessment to evaluate responsible consumption and production (SDG goal 12) in fashion supply chains. BAM2022 Conference on reimagining business and management as a force for good. Manchester, UK, 31 August - 2 September 2022. Manchester: Alliance Manchester Business School

Benton, H., 2018. Delivering enhanced skills for postgraduate through team-based learning (TBL)  In: CABS Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Conference 2018, 24-25 April 2018, Glasgow.

Benton, H.M.,  Everett, S. and Hunt, A., 2015. Raising levels of student satisfaction with assessment and feedback: reflecting on the staff experience of an ambitious change management programme. In: CABS Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Conference and Broadcast 2015, 28-29 April 2015, York.