Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) has received extensive member feedback regarding the implementation of the WiseTech Global (WTG) CargoWise Value Pack (CVP), particularly in relation to significant operational, commercial and legal concerns.
PRINCIPAL CONCERNS
1. Insufficient notice and mandatory transition- WTG issued several notifications about the new commercial model (in addition to the recent FTA webinar with WTG CEO Zubin Appoo), however pricing was not made available until mid-November in the lead up to the 1 December 2025 implementation. This has left members with insufficient time to assess impacts, consult clients, amend contracts or adjust internal systems and processes.
- While WTG claim that many customers will be paying less under the CVP, members are disputing this and also claim difficulty forecasting financial impacts due to unclear terminology, pricing denominated in USD and bundled functionality that may not be operationally required.
- It is currently not a common practice to on-charge software-related fees and in a highly competitive market, many members are reluctant to do so. As a result, those same members are concerned they are now left with no option but to absorb unplanned system costs.
2. Competition and consumer law concerns
- Following WTG's acquisition of e2open (including the Expedient platform), members note that there are currently very few viable alternatives in the Australian market. While new entrants are emerging, they are not presently available.
- Members have also raised concerns that repeated commentary from WTG encouraging the pass-through of the CVP fee to importers and exporters may be inconsistent with the Competition and Consumer Act and Australian Consumer Law, including possible risks relating to the facilitation of coordinated pricing.
FTA RESPONSE
While FTA normally refrains from intervening in commercial arrangements between members and their suppliers, the urgency and scale of disruption have required an exception.
To that end, FTA has held ongoing and constructive engagement with WTG executives which has escalated over the last 48 hours. That said, our recommendation to reverse the CVP rollout to allow further consultation and proper business-impact assessment has been declined, with WTG stating that "we have given the notice, we believe in the change and we strongly believe there is significant value."
FTA will continue to:
- cooperate fully with the ACCC in its review of the WTG acquisition of e2open, its market position and any related enquiries; and
- engage constructively with WTG and other software providers, including additional webinars, to support members in implementing practical operational solutions in a rapidly evolving technology environment.
We will continue to keep members informed of all key developments.
Paul Zalai - Director FTA / Secretariat APSA