More than 100 business leaders and managers from across Lancashire came together at Crow Wood Hotel & Spa last week for Seriun’s Getting ROI from AI conference, a practical event focused on helping businesses turn artificial intelligence into real measurable business results.
Designed for business owners, managing directors, finance leaders and IT professionals, the event moved beyond the hype surrounding AI and focused on a simple question: how can businesses use AI to save time, reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve profitability?
Throughout the day, attendees were shown real-world examples of how AI is already delivering value within businesses. Sessions covered everything from personal productivity and task automation through to department-wide efficiencies and business transformation initiatives. The emphasis remained firmly on practical outcomes and achieving a genuine return on investment from AI technologies.
A highlight of the event was hearing directly from businesses already embracing AI.
Leon Calverley, from Door4, shared insights into how Door4 are using AI to enhance sales and marketing performance, helping teams generate content more efficiently, improve lead generation and streamline day-to-day operations.
Delegates also heard from Matt Lawson of Ribble Cycles, who provided a behind-the-scenes look at how AI is being applied within the business. His session demonstrated how practical AI use cases are creating efficiencies, improving decision-making and supporting teams such as their developers, who haven’t written a piece of code in over a year, thanks to AI.
The event concluded with an interactive workshop, encouraging attendees to think about their own businesses and identify processes that could benefit from AI. The workshop focused on real business challenges, helping delegates understand where automation, AI-assisted decision-making and productivity tools could make an immediate impact.
Reflecting on the event, Dan Knowles, Founder at Northern Reach, said:
“This event had loads of really good information about how we can be using AI with Office365, Leon, from Door4 had some great stuff about how we can better apply AI to our marketing. And then the practical examples from that, and from Matt at Ribble Cycles, were just terrific. So loads of stuff there that we can take away. I’ve made loads of notes we can use, in everything we do.’
Speaking after the event, the Seriun team reflected on the strong level of engagement from attendees and the growing appetite among Lancashire businesses to explore AI in a practical and commercially focused way.
Laura Brown, Marketing Manager at Seriun commented:
‘It was fantastic to see so many businesses exploring how AI can make a real difference. The focus wasn’t on technology for technology’s sake, but on practical ways to save time, improve efficiency and help businesses work smarter. The engagement throughout the day, particularly during the workshops, was brilliant and showed just how keen businesses across Lancashire are to understand where AI can deliver real value. It was a really positive day and we’re looking forward to helping more organisations take the next step.’
While many businesses are still determining where to start with AI, the message throughout the day was clear: businesses don’t need to completely reinvent the way they work. Often, the greatest returns come from identifying small, repeatable tasks and processes where AI can save time, improve consistency and allow employees to focus on higher-value work.
The success of the event highlights the increasing interest in AI across the region and the desire from business leaders to understand how emerging technologies can deliver tangible benefits rather than simply following industry trends.