The Wool Exchange Portal – Working Group (WEP-WG) has held its initial meeting.
The group has been engaged to assess the viability of the major recommendation of the recent Wool Selling Systems Review: the creation of an online Wool Exchange Portal.
The Review Panel provided its 68 page Final Report (PDF 1.5Mb) earlier this year.
It stated a WEP would address a number of issues raised by industry, including reducing transaction costs and digitising the exchange of wool whilst creating greater transparency in the process.
The WEP-WG has been asked to provide Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) with a clear yes or no decision on a Wool Exchange Portal and for this decision to be provided by the AWI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November this year.
The group will meet over the next four months as required to undertake a business case review in the lead up to the AWI AGM. It is expected the WEP-WG will ask other industry bodies and digital thought leaders to present over the scheduled meetings to fully assess the viability of any future portal.
Appointed by the Board of AWI, The Working Group members and their relevant expertise include:
Will Wilson (Chairman): Digital Platform Transformation/Trade/Competition Creation
Mark Rodda (Executive Officer): Broking/Exporting/processing
John Roberts: AWI Representative
Tony Flannery: Woolgrower – NSW
Rob Lawrance: Woolgrower – VIC
Ed Storey: Woolgrower – NSW
Neil Jackson: Woolgrower – WA
Steve Hill: Quantitive Exporter (Global Wool)
Tim Marwedel: Qualitative Exporter (Schneider)
Peita Piper: Change Management, Process & Communications. UBank (NAB’s subsidiary)
Matt Tamplin: Logistics & Storage (CEO Australian Wool Handlers)
Travis Dillon: Wool Broker (CEO Ruralco) – (or his delegate)
Tom Warner: Wool Broker (CEO Landmark) – (Delegates may be Richard Dovison or Kym Gunn)
Mark Allison: Wool Broker (CEO Elders) – (Delegates may be Dave Adamson or Simon Hogan)