Tech / WiseTech CEO on CargoWise pricing: 'We knew this would be disruptive'

WiseTech Global CEO Zubin Appoo has acknowledged that the rollout of CargoWise’s new pricing model has been disruptive for freight forwarders, but insists the company has not engineered a cash “grab”, and says many customers will pay exactly the same as before under transitional protections. 

In a wide-ranging interview with The Loadstar, Mr Appoo addressed the issues that have dominated industry discussion since CargoWise Value Packs were announced at the end of October: who qualifies for Transitional Pricing Protection (TPP); how long it will last; why some announcements landed near holidays; and whether WiseTech underestimated the operational impact on customers. 

At the heart of the controversy is Transitional Pricing Protection, a mechanism designed to ensure some customers pay the same under the new model as they did under the old STL (seat and transaction licence) structure. 

Mr Appoo confirmed that TPP was not offered universally, but said this was intentional and based on historical usage patterns. He refused to disclose the detailed criteria used to determine who got the TPP – and who didn’t.  

“Each customer has unique usage,” he said. “We looked at individual customers, segments and groups, and made decisions before the October announcement about who would receive pricing protection.” 

For those customers, he said, the promise was simple: their total bill would be the same as under STL. In practice, TPP can either reduce a Value Pack charge back down to the old level – or increase it to match previous spend. 

“This is not a price grab,” he said. “It was a promise that we made, and we’ve honoured it.” 

However, Mr Appoo was clear that customers not placed on TPP could see prices move in either direction, depending on usage. 

Confusingly for customers, there is no fixed end date for the TPP. 

Mr Appoo said previous pricing transitions at WiseTech had taken years, particularly for larger customers, and while TPP may not last that long, it is not a short-term measure. 

“We’ll continuously review it,” he said. “There may be a point where we discontinue it for some, or all, customers, but there is no timing set.” 

Contractually, WiseTech is required to give just 30 days’ notice of pricing changes, which has unsettled forwarders that budget annually. Mr Appoo acknowledged the tension, but said the company was operating within long-established commercial terms. 

Some of the sharpest criticism has focused on when changes were announced and implemented, including upgrades and communications, landing just before weekends or public holidays – notably Thanksgiving in the US. 

Mr Appoo rejected suggestions this was deliberate. 

“It didn’t even cross my mind that it was a US public holiday weekend,” he said. “That was not the intention.” 

He explained that pricing changes typically aligned with month-ends to allow a clean notice period and a clear start date, which benefits both customers and financial reporting. Still, he conceded that greater sensitivity to regional holidays would be taken on board. 

A major concern among forwarders has been whether new technology charges can realistically be passed through to shippers. 

Mr Appoo said initial resistance was common – but often softened after discussion. 

“We’re talking about very small charges, “typically ranging from around $2 up to about $20 per shipment,” he said. “And the industry already operates on a disbursement model – port charges, customs duties, detention, demurrage. We’re now seeing technology fees passed through as well.” 

Asked whether the changes risked pushing smaller forwarders out, Mr Appoo argued the opposite: that simplified, predictable pricing and automation could make CargoWise more accessible to SMEs. 

He also pushed back on claims that WiseTech favours larger customers. 

“Really, this is an opportunity for customers of all sizes to increase their usage, and it allows us to talk to many of those SME customers that previously didn’t have predictability because of how complex our pricing model was. 

“We don’t discriminate,” he said, adding that he personally monitored LinkedIn daily for customers who say they are struggling to get responses. 

“If someone says they haven’t heard back, I want to know why. That’s not the business I want to lead.” 

He pointed to service-level agreements, as well as the launch of ACE, CargoWise’s AI support chatbot, as steps to improve responsiveness. 

Mr Appoo did not deny that the rollout generated backlash. 

“We knew this would be disruptive,” he said. “That’s not negative, it’s innovation. But we can always do better with communication.” 

He said customers received multiple emails, webinars were run with industry associations in several countries, and pricing was published publicly. But he acknowledged that direct conversations were often what, ultimately, resolved confusion. 

The CEO repeatedly returned to AI as the rationale behind the new model, highlighting live tools for document ingestion, customs classification, and compliance screening, all included in the Value Packs, among the 200 or so new features. 

Mr Appoo stressed that these were not future concepts, but tools already live in production, with the exception of the AI workflow engine, which remains in development.  

He argued that bundling features, rather than charging per transaction as under STL, was necessary to enable widespread adoption and avoid finance teams blocking usage due to unpredictable costs. 

But do companies need 200+ tools – and did they ask for them? 

“Look, it’s hard for me to answer that, because it really depends on each individual feature. And while we listen very carefully to customers, we actually make decisions we believe are right for the industry. And we often have customers asking us to build X, Y, or Z. And our view is we’ll dig deep and we’ll understand why they’re asking for that. What’s the root problem they’re trying to solve? And then our solution might not be to build X that they ask for, but to build something totally different that solves that problem.” 

He added that larger customers in particular had been asking about AI.

“They understand that they can’t just buy a third-party AI product and stick it on top of CargoWise. They need WiseTech to build that AI because we have access to the source code, and we can build AI into the workflow engine, the fundamental architecture layer that sits under all jobs in CargoWise.” 

And why charge for all the features, when forwarders may not want to use them? 

“We would often hear this joke in the industry, that every time someone presses the spacebar in CargoWise, they are charged for a new feature. And customers were just simply not able to predict or have transparency of what their invoice would be at the end of the month. And in fact, some customers would actually stop operators from using certain features. Even though it was clear those features would drive efficiency or risk reduction, because the finance and procurement teams have budgets and because they wanted predictability and transparency, they would turn certain features off.

“That was one of the core problems that the CargoWise Value Pack was actually looking to solve.” 

Addressing accusations that WiseTech’s market dominance allows it to charge what it likes, Mr Appoo was firm. 

“We’re proud of what CargoWise has become, but we won’t be arrogant,” he said. “This isn’t just a price rise, it’s the release of more than 200 new features.” 

As for the backlash, he expects to remain visible. 

“When there’s misinformation, it’s our duty to correct it,” he said. “And when customers want engagement, we’ll keep talking.” 

For now, at least, WiseTech’s CEO appears determined to stay in the firing line – and on forwarders’ screens – as the industry digests one of the biggest commercial shifts in CargoWise’s history.