Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Helping Freight Agency unlock productivity through agentic AI
Artificial Intelligence continues to dominate conversations across almost every sector, but many organisations are still grappling with a fundamental question: how do we turn AI from an interesting concept into a practical tool that delivers real business value?
At Leeds Beckett University's Digital Innovation and Enterprise Hub, that's exactly the challenge we're helping businesses to address.
Moving beyond the hype
Many businesses are aware of the potential of AI, but understanding where to start can often feel overwhelming. With new tools and platforms emerging at a rapid pace, it's easy to become distracted by the hype and lose sight of the real opportunities that exist within day-to-day business operations.
Our approach focuses on helping organisations identify real-world use cases that can create immediate value. Rather than discussing AI in abstract terms, we worked with the Freight Agency team to explore how agentic AI can automate repetitive tasks, streamline workflows and create more capacity for employees to focus on higher-value activities.
By grounding the discussion in their own business processes, participants were able to see where AI could have a tangible impact on efficiency and productivity.
Balancing innovation with responsibility
While the opportunities presented by AI are significant, successful adoption requires more than just understanding the technology itself.
A key part of the training focused on governance, risk management and responsible AI use. As organisations introduce AI into their operations, it's essential that employees understand not only what's possible, but also how to use these tools safely, ethically and in alignment with organisational policies.
By combining practical demonstrations with discussions around governance and accountability, we aimed to equip participants with the confidence to explore AI while maintaining appropriate safeguards.
Positive feedback from Freight Agency
It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm and engagement from the Freight Agency team throughout the session.
Reflecting on the training, Andrew Dickson, Head of Commercial at Freight Agency, said:
"It was a really useful, hands-on session that balanced practical ways we can use AI with the equally important side of governance and using it responsibly. The Leeds Beckett team were great trainers too. Knowledgeable, approachable and very good at making the subject practical and easy to get stuck into."
Feedback like this reinforces the importance of delivering training that is both accessible and directly relevant to the challenges businesses are facing today.
Supporting digital innovation across the region
The Digital Innovation and Enterprise Hub has been established to help organisations across the region harness the potential of digital technologies, develop new capabilities and drive innovation-led growth.
Whether businesses are taking their first steps with AI or looking to scale existing digital initiatives, our aim is to provide practical support that helps translate ambition into action.
Agentic AI represents a particularly exciting opportunity. By enabling technology to undertake routine and repetitive activities, organisations can unlock new levels of productivity while creating space for people to focus on creativity, problem-solving and strategic decision-making.
Working with Freight Agency was a great example of how tailored support can help businesses move from curiosity to confidence when it comes to AI adoption.
As AI technologies continue to evolve, we look forward to supporting more organisations on their digital innovation journeys and helping them realise the benefits of responsible, effective AI implementation.
