WiseTech buys customs educator CCES to expand training

WiseTech Global has agreed to acquire the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES), a specialist provider of customs and border management education and research with an international footprint.

The deal brings a long-running training organisation under the ownership of the Australian logistics software group, which has expanded in recent years into customs digitisation. CCES was established in Canberra in 2003 and has delivered education and awareness programmes in more than 60 countries.

CCES courses are accredited by the World Customs Organisation and focus on professional standards in customs administration. The organisation also works with tertiary institutions on qualifications for customs and border professionals.

Education focus

CCES will continue to operate under its existing brand and remain under the leadership of its founder, Professor David Widdowson AM.

WiseTech plans to consolidate CCES online platforms onto WiseTech Academy, its online learning platform. CCES subject matter expertise will also inform country-specific customs requirements for the rollout of CargoWise Customs and Compliance, a global product covering customs processes.

CCES provides internationally focused courses, including the Bachelor of Border Management and postgraduate degrees in Customs Administration. It has worked with universities, including Charles Sturt University, on course delivery.

From 2025, CCES partnered with Fiji National University and the Oceania Customs Organisation on the Pacific Centre for Border Management and Security. The partnership offers vocational and higher-education programmes for border management officers in the Pacific.

Tudor Maxwell, head of WiseTech Academy, said the acquisition would expand online training for customs roles across supply chains.

"Together with CCES, a global leader in customs education, WiseTech Academy will offer high-quality online training in customs administration and customs broking to those working in global supply chains worldwide. This investment combines our strengths, allowing CCES' world class training to be made available to an even wider audience."

Widdowson said the move would extend CCES' reach through WiseTech's position in logistics technology.

"We are very excited about this next phase for CCES. As part of WiseTech, a leader in logistics and supply chain technology, we are now better positioned to further improve the global standards of customs management and compliance by reaching more logistics professionals with the specialized training and content required by this sector."

Skills pipeline

WiseTech launched WiseTech Academy in 2018 to deliver industry courses and certifications for people entering logistics and those switching roles. The platform also provides technical certifications in areas such as biosecurity and the handling of dangerous goods.

In FY25, the number of WiseTech Academy industry courses completed by participants outside WiseTech increased by more than 50%. WiseTech framed the CCES acquisition as another step in making training more accessible online for a workforce spanning freight forwarding, customs brokerage and supply chain operations.

For CCES, the transaction links an education provider with a software supplier that sells to logistics operators worldwide. WiseTech reports more than 17,000 logistics-company customers across 193 countries, including many of the largest third-party logistics providers and freight forwarders.

Customs digitisation

The acquisition also aligns with WiseTech's push into digital customs systems and compliance. WiseTech says its global customs platform covers around 80% of the world's international manufactured trade flows, including countries where products are in production and development.

It has also cited work with the New Zealand Customs Service to digitise the country's tariff system and says it is certified to issue preferential Certificates of Origin for Australia and New Zealand.

WiseTech did not disclose financial terms. Completion is subject to conditions precedent.

As the transaction progresses, CCES will continue operating under its existing brand and leadership while integrating its online learning infrastructure with WiseTech Academy.