LEADING wool broking companies have joined wool growers and exporters on Australian Wool Innovation’s Wool Exchange Portal working group.

The membership of the AWI board-appointed working group was released by AWI yesterday after its initial meeting.

AWI said 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 AWI board has asked the working group to provide it with “a clear yes or no decision” on a Wool Exchange Portal by the AWI’s 2016 Annual General Meeting on November 18.

The WEP working group members and their relevant expertise according to AWI include:

Will Wilson (chairman): digital platform transformation/trade/competition creation

Mark Rodda (executive officer): broking/exporting/processing

John Roberts: AWI representative

Tony Flannery: wool grower – New South Wales

Rob Lawrance: wool grower – Victoria

Ed Storey: wool grower – New South Wales

Neil Jackson: wool grower – Western Australia

Steve Hill: quantitative exporter (Global Wool)

Tim Marwedel: qualitative exporter (Schneider)

Peita Piper: change management, process and communications. UBank (NAB’s subsidiary)

Matt Tamplin: logistics and 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)

AWI said the working 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.

AWI’s Wool Selling Systems Review panel provided its final 68-page report 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 while creating greater transparency in the process.

AWI’s 2016 Annual General Meeting will be held at 10am on Friday November 18 in the Swissotel Sydney’s Blaxland Room. Formal notice and meeting papers will be sent to AWI shareholders in late October.

Source: AWI.