diff --git a/.build/publish-caliper.sh b/.build/publish-caliper.sh
index 91448ceee..d0e521713 100755
--- a/.build/publish-caliper.sh
+++ b/.build/publish-caliper.sh
@@ -21,14 +21,11 @@ cp ./README.md ./packages/caliper-cli/README.md
 cp ./README.md ./packages/caliper-core/README.md
 cp ./README.md ./packages/caliper-fabric/README.md
 
-# distribute root package-lock file as npm-shrinkwrap file to packages before publishing
-# We can't do this because caliper-cli declares dependencies on caliper-core and caliper-fabric 
-# and the packaged shrinkwrap for caliper-cli will not be correct to resolve them as package-lock.json
-# is mono-repo aware but the published packages won't understand it in shrinkwrap.json so will create
-# invalid references. Doing this would force everyone to have to install all 3 packages manually.
-#cp ./package-lock.json ./packages/caliper-cli/npm-shrinkwrap.json
-#cp ./package-lock.json ./packages/caliper-core/npm-shrinkwrap.json
-#cp ./package-lock.json ./packages/caliper-fabric/npm-shrinkwrap.json
+# copy package-lock.json to the individual package dirs as an npm-shrinkwrap.json
+# they will be patched with the correct version before publishing to npm
+cp ./package-lock.json ./packages/caliper-cli/npm-shrinkwrap.json
+cp ./package-lock.json ./packages/caliper-core/npm-shrinkwrap.json
+cp ./package-lock.json ./packages/caliper-fabric/npm-shrinkwrap.json
 
 cd ./packages/caliper-publish/
 npm ci
diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
index 7e7be2b96..9c5721036 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
             ]
         }
     },
-    "postCreateCommand": "cd docs && pip install -r pip-requirements.txt && mkdocs build",
+    "postCreateCommand": "npm install -g npm && cd docs && pip install -r pip-requirements.txt && mkdocs build",
     "remoteUser": "vscode",
-    "forwardPorts": [8000] 
+    "forwardPorts": [8000]
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/caliper-publish/lib/impl/npm.js b/packages/caliper-publish/lib/impl/npm.js
index be29da247..57bf181a5 100644
--- a/packages/caliper-publish/lib/impl/npm.js
+++ b/packages/caliper-publish/lib/impl/npm.js
@@ -60,6 +60,54 @@ function injectCustomVersion(packageJsonPath, customVersion) {
     fs.writeFileSync(packageJsonPath, JSON.stringify(packageObject, null, 4));
 }
 
+/**
+ * Utility function for overwriting the common Caliper version in the package.json files.
+ * @param {string} shrinkwrapPath The path of the package.json file.
+ * @param {string} customVersion The new version to use.
+ */
+function injectCustomShrinkwrapVersion(shrinkwrapPath, customVersion) {
+
+    /**
+     * Update dependency references starting with "@hyperledger/caliper-"
+     * @param {object} deps the dependency object
+     * @param {string} newVersion the new version
+     */
+    function updateDependencies(deps, newVersion) {
+        if (!deps) {
+            return;
+        }
+        for (const depName in deps) {
+            if (depName.startsWith('@hyperledger/caliper-')) {
+                deps[depName] = newVersion;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    if (!fs.existsSync(shrinkwrapPath)) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    const shrinkwrap = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(shrinkwrapPath, 'utf8'));
+    shrinkwrap.version = customVersion;
+
+    // Update packages starting with "packages/caliper-"
+    if (shrinkwrap.packages) {
+        shrinkwrap.packages[''].version = customVersion;
+        for (const pkgName in shrinkwrap.packages) {
+            console.log(pkgName);
+            if (pkgName.startsWith('packages/caliper-')) {
+                if (shrinkwrap.packages[pkgName].version) {
+                    shrinkwrap.packages[pkgName].version = customVersion;
+                    updateDependencies(shrinkwrap.packages[pkgName].dependencies, customVersion);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // serialize new content
+    fs.writeFileSync(shrinkwrapPath, JSON.stringify(shrinkwrap, null, 4));
+}
+
+
 /**
  * Implements the docker publish command logic.
  */
@@ -104,6 +152,7 @@ class NPM {
             if (tag === 'unstable') {
                 injectCustomVersion(path.join(packageDir, 'package.json'), packageVersion);
             }
+            injectCustomShrinkwrapVersion(path.join(packageDir, 'npm-shrinkwrap.json'), packageVersion);
 
             try {
                 let published = false;