WiseTech software competitiveness questioned

WiseTech Global is defending its place in logistics software just as new United States money pours into freight technology and artificial intelligence tools. (wisetechglobal.com) WiseTech’s core product, CargoWise, is software freight forwarders and customs brokers use to run bookings, documents, warehouse work and border filings on one system. WiseTech said in its 2025 annual report that it had more than 17,000 logistics-company customers across 193 countries as of June 30, 2025. (wisetechglobal.com) The company told investors on August 27, 2025 that those customers included 47 of the top 50 global third-party logistics providers and 24 of the 25 largest freight forwarders. WiseTech also said it had added more than 5,700 product enhancements to CargoWise over the prior five years. (wisetechglobal.com) The pressure point is not a single rival but a wave of software spending around freight, warehousing and supply-chain planning. PitchBook said venture capital investment in supply chain and logistics technology totaled $2.7 billion across 85 deals in the fourth quarter of 2025, with enterprise supply-chain management gaining momentum on artificial-intelligence interest. (pitchbook.com) Some of that money is going straight at the idea of a logistics “operating system,” the same phrase WiseTech uses for its own ambition. Alvys said on October 1, 2025 that it raised $40 million to expand an artificial-intelligence freight platform for carriers and brokers, bringing its total funding to $77 million. (ttnews.com) WiseTech has responded by getting bigger. On August 4, 2025, it completed the $2.1 billion acquisition of United States-based e2open, a cloud software company whose products reach buyers, importers, exporters, manufacturers and brand owners beyond WiseTech’s traditional freight-forwarding base. (announcements.asx.com.au) That deal changed WiseTech’s scale quickly. In results released February 25, 2026, the company said it was serving more than 22,000 logistics companies and other industry participants across 193 countries, and that the e2open acquisition expanded its network to more than 500,000 connected enterprises. (announcements.asx.com.au) The same February filing showed the trade-off. Revenue for the six months ended December 31, 2025 rose 76% to $672.0 million, while statutory net profit fell 36% to $68.1 million as acquisition-related costs and amortization weighed on reported earnings. (announcements.asx.com.au) WiseTech’s argument is that global trade software is hard to replace because customs rules, local compliance and cross-border workflows vary by country and by shipment. CargoWise markets tools such as ComplianceWise to help customers spot shipment and regulatory risks early, which is one reason incumbency matters in this corner of software. (cargowise.com) The open question is whether that installed base and compliance depth can outrun a new crop of United States-funded software firms building faster automation on top of freight workflows. For now, WiseTech is betting that scale, integration and its larger post-e2open network will matter more than startup speed alone. (wisetechglobal.com)