FREIGHT forwarders have taken aim at Wisetech’s New Cargowise Value Pack (CVP), seeking further explanation of billed items, including the Transitional Pricing Protection (TPP) fee.
DCN previously reported on the new CVP, where businesses were confused about how to respond to the updated billing model.
EES Shipping managing director Brian Hack said “nothing tallied up” while running reports, and fellow forwarders were “on the same boat”.
“We’re actually struggling to reconcile what they’ve done,” Mr Hack said.
“I did the sums and went ‘this might be cheaper for us’, and eventually it was, but then they added in the Transitional Pricing Protection Fee.”
Mr Hack said the company would review which of the new services potentially could be implemented into their business model.
“We will use as many of the features as we can,” he said.
“It (the software) pretty much runs our business from A to Z.”
EES Shipping had been using Wisetech’s software since 2006, and the company originally paid a monthly bill of $5,000 in the early 2000s.
The business then transitioned to the Seat based licensing (STL) model, charged at an upfront cost of $20,000.
A suite of services promoted by Wisetech as 216+ are yet to be announced as part of the tech giant’s new product offerings.
In a statement addressing concerns from members of the International Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association of Australia (IFCBAA), Wisetech said “additional features that add value are now available at no additional cost”.
“WiseTech strongly believes that the use of many of these features will drive productivity, efficiency and risk reduction,” the statement said.
“We have seen this with many of our customers who are using those features.
“We also accept that many customers do not use those features today, but that is primarily because they used to have individual price points.
“That has been solved with the CVP model.”
Perth-based freight forwarder Transitainer WA has used Wisetech services since 2009.
Transitainer WA owner and director Kelly Crossley said the company was yet to receive a response to an online request regarding the TPP.
“We have not been provided sufficient details to validate how the charges have been calculated,” Ms Crossley said.
“We have requested clarification on the legacy pricing baseline used for comparison, usage charges applied during the same period and how the TPP has been derived on a month-by-month basis.”
Her team has requested a detailed breakdown of the TPP calculation from Wisetech, a commercial review of the charges applied, including consideration of credits where appropriate, and confirmation of the expected end date TPP on their account.
“If we had full transparency of how the charges are applied and some customer service, the model might actually be ok,” she said.
“We will continue to address our concerns and push for answers and approve the tax invoice from Cargowise when we have full clarity and know how.
“Offerings have changed over time, but not one like this that has a large impact on business, and you don’t get time to make an educated decision.
“I understand the need to evolve as a business grow and use AI and technology, but we also need customer service and assistance. We may now consider alternative options.”
DCN sought additional comment from WiseTech regarding the TPP fee but had not received a response at the time of publication.