WiseTech Global acquires ABM Data Systems and CustomsMatters

Global logistics software group, WiseTech Global, acquires two leading European customs solutions providers, ABM Data Systems (pan-Europe) and CustomsMatters (Ireland)

WiseTech Global today announced two acquisitions of European customs solutions providers, both headquartered in Dublin. ABM Data Systems, a leading developer and provider of customs clearance solutions accredited for the UK, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany, and CustomsMatters, the leading customs solution provider in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

ABM Data provides advanced solutions across customs clearance, bonded warehouse and point of delivery management. ABM Data customers include UPS, DSV, Yusen, JAS, Tigers, Heavey RF, and many other exporters, customs brokers, freight forwarders, distributors and logistics service providers.

CustomsMatters provides e-customs solutions through its cloud-hosted customs compliance platform, myCustoms, and customs brokerage and consulting services to customers including DHL, UPS, OAG Cargo, SwissPort, WFS, Aramex, Sisk Healthcare, G&J Distillers, Dairygold, Geodis and many other organisations and logistics providers.

WiseTech Global CEO, Richard White, said “With the potential for increased complexity as Brexit and EU trade changes evolve, WiseTech’s ability to provide deeply integrated customs clearance solutions ultimately reduces risk and costs while improving productivity, security and compliance at the borders. Together, these transactions provide WiseTech with market leadership and execution ability across Ireland and further insights into European customs – a key foundation for the challenges ahead. Regardless of ‘hard borders’, or how ‘frictionless trade’ plays out, our speed to market for automated and integrated customs solutions and highly scalable capacity will ensure we can help logistics providers across Europe meet the regulatory challenges and exponential volume growth to come.”

“Customs clearance management needs rich software, effective integration and a deep understanding of regulatory requirements to enable on-time, on-budget, accurate compliance. As volumes, complexity and compliance requirements increase across the global supply chain, effective customs clearance solutions that can ease the burden on logistics providers, mitigate risk and boost productivity, become critical. Our continued expansion of our European footprint, by adding customs market leadership in Ireland and broader pan-European capability, will, over time, substantially increase productivity for all our customers.

“We have worked with the ABM Data team for years and now is the right time to bring them into the WiseTech Global family. Their technology capability, deep pan-European customs knowledge and agile product development team will be applied to our Universal Customs Engine to accelerate and facilitate rapid customs localisations and next-generation development.”

ABM Data Managing Director, Stewart Bourke, said, “We have a shared vision with WiseTech for a deeply integrated global customs solution, and by joining the WiseTech group, we can leverage the global strength and powerful innovation capability of WiseTech, to accelerate development opportunities across Europe. ABM Data and WiseTech Global will together focus on delivering significant and far-reaching improvements in customs declarations management and cross-border compliance.”

WiseTech Global CEO, Richard White, said, “Customs clearance is a complex process with growing transaction volumes, rapidly changing legal requirements, and significant potential penalties. With CustomsMatters’ deep historical experience in Ireland and the UK, and their award-winning customs management solutions, we are looking forward to working together with both EU and the UK authorities to enable our customers in the region to effectively manage cross-border operations during and after Brexit.”

CustomsMatters Managing Director, Stephen Tracey, said, “Becoming part of the WiseTech Global group with its vision and extensive reach across the global supply chain is an exciting step forward for CustomsMatters. We will be able to develop more powerful, integrated and automated functionality for our customers. With CargoWise One’s significant customs capabilities our brokerage and compliance team will be able enhance our service offering in Ireland and elsewhere.”

Remaining under the leadership of respective Managing Directors, Stewart Bourke and Stephen Tracey, the operations of both ABM Data and CustomsMatters will be integrated within the WiseTech Global group and each business will continue to deliver their customs management solutions directly to their customers, along with WiseTech’s powerful global logistics platform, CargoWise One.

WiseTech’s global integrated platform, CargoWise One, enables logistics service providers to execute highly complex transactions in areas such as freight forwarding, customs clearance, warehousing, shipping, land transport and cross-border compliance and to manage their operations on one database across multiple users, functions, countries, languages and currencies.

Along with our recent acquisitions in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, North America and the Netherlands, the addition of ABM Data and CustomsMatters to the WiseTech Global group is in line with WiseTech’s stated strategy of accelerating long-term organic growth through targeted, valuable acquisitions across new geographies and larger, globally capable adjacencies.

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About WiseTech Global

WiseTech Global is a leading developer and provider of software solutions to the logistics execution industry globally. Our customers include over 7,000 of the world’s logistics companies across more than 125 countries, including 32 of the top 50 global third party logistics providers and 23 of the 25 largest global freight forwarders worldwide¹. Our flagship product, CargoWise One, forms an integral link in the global supply chain and executes over 44 billion data transactions annually. Our software enables our customers to execute highly complex transactions in areas such as freight forwarding, customs clearance, warehousing, shipping, land transport and cross border compliance and to manage their operations on one database across multiple users, functions, countries, languages and currencies. At WiseTech, we are relentless about innovation, adding more than 3,000 product enhancements to our global platform in the past five years while bringing meaningful, continual improvement to the world’s supply chains. Our breakthrough software solutions are renowned for their powerful productivity, extensive functionality, comprehensive integration, deep compliance capabilities, and truly global reach.

For more information on WiseTech Global and CargoWise One, please visit:

• Investor centre www.ir.wisetechglobal.com/investors
• Company website www.wisetechglobal.com

About ABM Data Systems (ABM Data)

Founded in 2006, ABM Data is a leading provider of innovative automated customs and brokerage solutions. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with a team of 20 people, ABM Data develop and provides customs declaration management and related international trade software solutions. ABM Data has deep experience managing the implementation of large-scale European customs and logistics system integration projects.

ABM Data’s product lines are CustomsWare and TransportForce. Their pioneering on-demand customs clearance solution, CustomsWare, is accredited for all customs regimes in Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany, and includes solutions for bonded warehousing, delivery management and web-services. TransportForce offers a fully integrated web-based ePOD and tracking system including full EDI support.

For more information about ABM Data Systems visit www.ABMDataSystems.com

About CustomsMatters

Founded in 1988, CustomsMatters is a leading provider of innovative automated customs and brokerage solutions in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK. Headquartered in Dublin, with a team of 7 experienced customs and technical professionals, CustomsMatters provides customs clearance solutions for hundreds of customers, from small businesses to multinational companies including DHL, UPS, OAG Cargo, SwissPort, WFS, Aramex, Sisk Healthcare, G&J Distillers, Dairygold, Geodis, ATA Tools and many other organisations and logistics providers.

CustomsMatters achieved Authorised Economic Operator status in 2009, which is recognised as the ‘gold standard’ for companies involved in international trade and is recognised throughout all 28 member states of the EC.

For more information about CustomsMatters visit www.customsmatters.com

Contact Information

MEDIA

Piers Shervington
+61 2 8001 2200
piers.shervington@wisetechglobal.com

Matthew Gregorowski
+61 2 8234 0100
mgregorowski@citadelmagnus.com

¹ Armstrong & Associates: Top 50 Global Third Party Logistics Providers List, ranked by 2016 logistics gross revenue/turnover.
Armstrong & Associates: Top 25 Global Freight Forwarders List, ranked by 2016 logistics gross revenue/turnover and freight forwarding volumes.