Takes & Tickers – May 29, 2025 [Edition 2]: WiseTech buys E2open for $3.25B, PDD, MIT & Trade Policy Shakeup
Strategic deep dives on WiseTech’s $3.25B merger with E2open, PDD’s tariff struggles - profits down by 50%, MIT’s manufacturing push, and shifting trade policies disrupting global supply chains.
Welcome to the second edition of Takes & Tickers — a weekly lens on the most strategic moves shaping the global supply chain.
Each Thursday, I break down four key stories from the week—decoded with quotes, sourced links, and strategic takes you won’t get from headlines alone.
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Here’s what I unpack this week (May 29, 2025)
💼 WiseTech + E2open Merger: $3.25B deal nearly doubles WiseTech’s revenue, expanding global footprint and platform capabilities. Positions them as a top-3 supply chain SaaS leader against Oracle and SAP.
🚢 Trade Policy & Shipping Volatility: Tariffs, including a 50% EU import duty, combined with a surge in blank sailings, tighten global shipping capacity and inflate freight costs. Supply chains must diversify carriers, boost inventory buffers, and invest in real-time visibility.
📉 PDD Profit Hit by Tariffs: Tariff-driven costs and loss of duty exemptions slash PDD’s profits nearly 50%. Temu pivots to local fulfillment, sacrificing price advantage but aiming for resilience amid U.S. trade policy headwinds.
🏭 MIT Manufacturing Initiative: MIT launches a broad program to accelerate advanced manufacturing tech adoption, boosting U.S. industrial competitiveness. Manufacturers, supply chains, and startups benefit from innovation and workforce development partnerships.
1. 💼 WiseTech Acquires E2open in $3.25B Supply Chain Software Deal
WiseTech Global has acquired E2open for $3.25 billion, creating one of the world’s largest cloud-based supply chain software platforms. This integration combines logistics execution, planning, and analytics capabilities.
“We have more canvas to paint on, and more paint to paint,” said co-founder Richard White, WiseTech’s executive chair.
“This is a step up in capability, a step up in global reach, a step up in adjacent areas that we would have had to get to over a long time for a lot of money in a high-risk environment.”
Why It Matters:
I agree with Richard White’s statement, this acquisition is a big win for WiseTech in an ever-growing market for digital supply chain solutions. By combining forces with E2open, WiseTech accelerates its strategic roadmap by at least a decade, gaining access to a massive, connected ecosystem of over 500,000 partners and processing billions of transactions annually.
This deal almost doubles revenue, expands global reach, and deepens platform capabilities across logistics execution, planning, and analytics. It sets WiseTech up to lead in the rapidly evolving SaaS supply chain market.
Post-merger, WiseTech-E2open positions itself as one of the top three global supply chain SaaS providers alongside Oracle and SAP.
The integrated, end-to-end platform forms a powerful competitive moat against Manhattan Associates, Blue Yonder, and other traditional players.
In a market increasingly demanding unified digital solutions, this deal compels competitors to either innovate aggressively or consolidate to maintain relevance.
By combining WiseTech’s and E2open’s platforms, the merged company can:
Offer End-to-End Solutions: WiseTech’s strong presence in logistics execution (freight forwarding, customs clearance, warehouse management) pairs with E2open’s strengths in supply chain planning, demand forecasting, and analytics. This allows selling complementary modules to existing customers who previously used only one side’s products.
Expand Customer Wallet Share with enhanced Platform: Customers using only standalone modules now have an incentive to adopt the full suite to improve integration, visibility, and automation, increasing contract sizes.
This reflects the inherent strength of platform power—once users are embedded in an integrated ecosystem, switching costs rise, customer stickiness strengthens, and the platform’s ability to deliver end-to-end value becomes a powerful competitive advantage.
Penetrate New Verticals: E2open’s customer base includes manufacturers and retailers that WiseTech can now serve with logistics execution solutions. Similarly, WiseTech’s logistics-focused clients gain access to planning and analytics tools, broadening service applicability.
Leverage Data & Insights: Integrated data flows across execution and planning allow selling advanced analytics, AI-powered optimization, and risk management features as premium upgrades.
2. 🚢 Trade Policy & Shipping Volatility: Tariffs, Blank Sailings, and Capacity Challenges
Following recent tariff implementations, Flexport reports a significant surge in blank sailings—planned cancellations or skipped port calls by carriers—that have tightened transpacific shipping capacity and driven freight rates higher.
Evolving U.S.-China trade tensions and reshoring initiatives continue to reshape global supply chains. Notably, a 50% tariff on certain imports from the European Union adds another layer of complexity and cost for transatlantic trade. From Flexport blog:
“Blank sailings reduce available shipping capacity, inflating rates and increasing unpredictability in transit times, creating major risks for global supply chains.”
Why it matters:
The combined impact of tariffs, including the substantial 50% tariff on EU goods, and blank sailings creates unprecedented volatility and cost pressure in global shipping lanes.
These tariffs not only increase direct import costs for businesses trading with the EU but also strain logistics networks already facing capacity shortages.
The higher duties incentivize companies to reconsider sourcing and manufacturing footprints, potentially accelerating reshoring or nearshoring trends. Businesses must prioritize carrier diversification, increase inventory buffers, and invest in advanced supply chain visibility tools to manage these challenges.
The recent rebound in consumer sentiment amid tariff easing provides cautious optimism but further underscores the need for agile, resilient supply chains.
Industry & Competitive Impact:
These dynamics are reshaping competitive advantage in logistics and commerce. Providers capable of offering flexible capacity, transparent tracking, and agile response models will capture market share. The turbulence compels a strategic pivot toward resilience and digitization, defining the contours of supply chain competition and operation for 2025 and beyond.
The elevated tariff burden on EU imports may also shift trade flows and supplier relationships, compelling companies to reevaluate supplier diversification and supply chain design. Together, these forces are defining the supply chain landscape for 2025 and beyond, emphasizing resilience and digitization as key pillars of competitiveness.
3. 📉 PDD’s Profit Drops As U.S. Tariffs Bite
PDD Holdings, owner of bargain online retailer Temu, reported a nearly 50% drop in first-quarter profit due to U.S. tariffs and removal of duty exemptions on low-value packages from China. From WSJ:
No matter how policies shift, we’ll continue to strengthen our operations in the markets we serve, helping more local merchants grow on our platform and enabling more orders to be fulfilled from local warehouses,” said PDD Chairman Chen Lei.
I agree this is a significant challenge for PDD, but also an important inflection point. Tariff-driven cost pressures force Temu to pivot towards local fulfillment and bulk imports, sacrificing price advantage but striving to maintain market presence and customer trust. This adjustment is vital for long-term resilience amid regulatory uncertainty.
I wrote in “Temu, Tariffs, and The New Rules of Global Supply Chains”:
Relying on that volume of air cargo is neither sustainable nor scalable. Shifting to domestic suppliers or better-planned ocean freight reduces that burden — and gives Temu tighter control over demand and costs.
I further noted in this essay,
This allows Temu to:
Avoid exposure to the 145% tariffs by ensuring goods originate domestically ❌📦
Offer faster delivery (2–3 days) 🚚
Gain clearer insight into real-time demand trends, enabling more accurate inventory forecasting and restocking decisions 📈
Industry & Competitive Impact
PDD’s experience illustrates the increasing complexity for China-based cross-border e-commerce players. Competitors like Amazon and Shein with stronger local infrastructure gain advantage. This underscores the growing importance of supply chain agility, localization, and diversified sourcing strategies globally.
4. 🏭 MIT Launches Initiative for New Manufacturing Technologies
MIT recently announced a major new initiative aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of next-generation manufacturing technologies. The program focuses on advanced materials, automation, AI integration, and sustainable manufacturing processes to boost U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and resilience. From MIT newsroom:
“We want to work with firms big and small, in cities, small towns and everywhere in between, to help them adopt new approaches for increased productivity,” said MIT President Sally A. Kornbluth. “Helping America build a future of new manufacturing is a perfect job for MIT — and I’m convinced that there is no more important work we can do to meet the moment and serve the nation now.”
Why it matters:
MIT’s initiative reflects a strategic effort to position itself as a global leader in manufacturing innovation and workforce development. By fostering public-private partnerships and interdisciplinary research, MIT aims to catalyze transformative technologies that can revitalize American manufacturing and supply chains. The program strengthens MIT’s ecosystem by attracting funding, industry collaboration, and top-tier talent, reinforcing its reputation as a hub for cutting-edge technology and economic impact.
Who Can Benefit & How:
Manufacturers: Gain early access to cutting-edge materials, automation tools, and AI-driven processes that improve efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance product quality.
Supply Chain Managers: Leverage innovations to build more resilient, flexible supply chains that can respond rapidly to disruptions and shifting market demands.
Technology Providers & Startups: Partner with MIT to pilot and scale emerging solutions, tapping into research expertise and funding opportunities.
Workforce & Educators: Benefit from upskilling programs and training aligned with new manufacturing technologies, ensuring a talent pipeline ready for the future.
Recommended Steps:
Engage with MIT Partnerships: Companies should explore collaboration opportunities through MIT’s ecosystem to co-develop and pilot innovations.
Invest in Workforce Development: Prioritize training programs to prepare teams for new manufacturing technologies and processes.
Pilot Emerging Technologies: Adopt test projects focusing on automation, AI, and sustainable materials to assess impact and scalability.
Align Supply Chain Strategy: Incorporate flexibility and sustainability goals aligned with emerging manufacturing capabilities to future-proof operations.
