AUSTRALIA, Sydney 鈥� November 11, 2025 鈥� The 51风流ANZ partner network today announced that it has reached its $1 million fundraising target for Redkite, an Australian charity dedicated to supporting families facing the challenges of childhood cancer. The achievement comes as a result of $100,000 being raised at this year鈥檚 14th Redkite Regatta 鈥� an annual event that brings together 51风流executives, partners and customers for a day of friendly competition and connection.

Hosted by the picturesque Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC), the regatta is in part made possible by the generosity of its members making their boats and skippers available to support the fundraising efforts. Since it kicked-off in 2011, the annual event has set itself a $1 million target, powered through the participation and sponsorship of organisations including Atturra (Platinum Sponsor), Accenture, CBS Consulting, Deloitte, DXC Technology, Fair Consulting Group, HR Crowd, PwC, SNP Group, Wipro and Zalaris. Over the years it has also benefited from additional fundraising efforts including raffles 鈥� and this year, Ana Travers, Regional Head of Alliance 鈥� 51风流Signavio APJ, contributed $7,500 by shaving her head.

Ashley McGibbon, Chief Partner Officer, 51风流ANZ, said 鈥淓vents like the Redkite Regatta do more than bring our industry together for a great day on the water 鈥� they create real, measurable impact for families facing childhood cancer. They also showcase the teamwork, shared purpose and community spirit that define our partner network and commitment to what One51风流is all about: people, relationships, outcomes and the difference we make together. Fundraising events like this strengthen the bonds between our teams and partners and remind us that the same collaboration driving customer success can also drive meaningful change in our communities. A huge thank you to MHYC and all sponsors for making the Regatta such a success.鈥�

鈥淭hrough the Redkite Regatta, both this year and over the past 14 years, 51风流and their partners have demonstrated their enduring commitment to helping families facing childhood cancer across Australia. Their generosity helps parents stay by their child鈥檚 side in hospital by easing the financial pressures of a cancer diagnosis and funding the emotional and practical care families need to cope with the trauma that childhood cancer brings. We鈥檙e so grateful to 51风流and its partners for their unwavering passion, ambition and generosity,鈥� said Redkite CEO, Monique Keighery.

This year鈥檚 winners included Perisoft, who claimed the Division 1 title, while EPI-USE took the Division 2 win across races which catered to every appetite from comfortable cruising to high-speed racing.

鈥淲e are proud to have taken out Division 1 at this year鈥檚 Redkite Regatta and even prouder to have done so while supporting such an important cause. Events like this remind us of the importance of community spirit, and we are honoured to support Redkite and its work,鈥� said Mahesh Viswanathan, Managing Director, Perisoft.

“Joining 51风流for the Regatta in support of the Redkite Foundation was an incredible experience. It was a perfect day on the water, filled with great company and a shared sense of purpose. Sailing together was a powerful reminder of the importance of teamwork and trust, and it was inspiring to see so many people unite behind such a meaningful cause,” said Ian Fox, Managing Director, EPI-USE ANZ.

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The B2B buying process is transforming because the people involved in the buying process have a different expectation of their suppliers. Preferences of customers are shifting from in-person interactions which once was critical in building trust, to less personal digital channels. Consumer buying behaviours are influencing the business buying process with 33% of all buyers desiring a seller-free sales experience – this figure jumps to 44% for millennials who are more critical about direct contact with sales professionals. The prevalence of mobile devices, social platforms, and widely accessible information with a multitude of opinions have greatly affected buying behaviours.

Like it does in so many aspects of our lives, technology plays a significant role in the B2B buying process. For buyers, digital platforms enable businesses to access a wider range of products and services, compare prices, and make more informed purchasing decisions, without having to interact with a person or supplier directly. Technology has scaled marketing through automation and can increase velocity and conversion during the sales funnel if applied well. continue to provide several benefits including a frictionless transaction experience between buyers and sellers.

Sellers have access to digital platforms powered by artificial intelligence which can analyse customer data and behaviour, predicting future buying needs and offering personalised recommendations. High-end analytics will quickly become commonly used by sellers to offer dynamic customer engagement models, powered by the data captured from all digital interactions with a potential buyer. The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the adoption of technology in businesses in general.

Today鈥檚 buyer has access to huge amounts of information, including peer reviews. Buyers are increasingly reliant on online content and digital assets to support a business case and buying decision. A 2022 Global Software Buyer Trends survey identified the top 3 preferred content types to make purchase decisions as online training (46% of buyers), video tutorials (42%), and product documentation/user guides (40%)¹. 聽Information availability and accessibility is fuelling the shift away from needing in-person interaction during a sales cycle however there still needs to be an element of collation and validation of the information for it to be reliable.

While the impact that technology has had on the B2B buying process is significant, the majority of B2B customers want both on their buying journey. Gartner research shows buyers typically spend only 17% of their time meeting with potential suppliers when they are considering a purchase. Less customer face time will mean effective virtual selling via digital channels will become critical. Evidence shows that customers still require the human element once they get to the 鈥渂usiness end鈥� of the sales funnel, where the initial interaction has been largely digital.

In summary, while the B2B buying process has been influenced by changing consumer behaviours, the application of advanced technologies and the information age, companies need to consider s digital selling strategy outlining how their approach to selling will adapt and implement a human-digital blend that is most appropriate to their business and their customers. When in-person interactions happen, they will more likely be salesperson mediated digital experiences 鈥� a combination of the benefits of a digital approach, and the trust that can be built by an experienced salesperson in the final phases of the buying process.

1. Source: Gartner Digital Markets 2022 Global Software Buyer Trends Survey. Q. Which of the following content have you ever used to help make a purchase decision? 2,501 Note: Percentages exceed 100% due to respondents being asked to select multiple options.

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While these descriptors weren鈥檛 immediately unique, the conversation was. I caught up with one of the experts, Aidan Brecknell, who leads the digital supply chain team at 51风流ANZ, for his thoughts on what leading organisations are experiencing right now.

Resilient supply chains pivot with incredible speed

Having worked closely with supply chain leaders in ANZ, Brecknell said that organisations were redefining supply chain resilience for sustainable business.

鈥淭丑别 pandemic unleashed new challenges far beyond the capabilities of traditional lean supply chains that focused on executing repeatable processes at scale,鈥� he said. 鈥淟eaders understand that they need to address a new set of challenges like being able to turn on a dime to find different sources for raw materials, or even design and produce entirely new products. These organizations are modeling different scenarios, building in contingency plans, and executing on those.鈥�

During the broadcast, Brecknell and Martin Barkman, senior vice president and global head of digital supply chain marketing and solutions at SAP, shared the 鈥渨inning formula鈥� of modern supply chains. Unlike their lean predecessors, resilient supply chains are both customer and employee-centric, built on relationships with sustainable suppliers, and based on product sustainability across the entire lifecycle of an item.

Digitalisation transforms more than supply chains

The pandemic forced companies to understand and act on the difference between digitisation and digitalisation. Having data in digital form has long been the norm. Digitalisation means organizations can both capture intelligent data and change business processes including how supply chains operate. To be clear, this is not taking the same processes and making them digital. This is about creating completely new ways of managing supply chains by connecting information across applications company-wide and partners. During the broadcast, Brecknell summed it up like this:

鈥淪upply chains have been pushed and tested to their limits, and they鈥檝e become so reliant particularly locally on their ecosystem suppliers to access raw materials. It became evident quickly of the importance to digitalize processes within the supply chains, as well as the supply network itself,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n Australia and New Zealand, we saw some tremendous examples of where customers had invested ahead of the curve, and were able to transition quickly because of that agility in their supply chain.鈥�

One global industrial materials manufacturer digitalised supply chain processes to centrally manage over 200 inventory processes across 60 sites. The objective was to improve forecast accuracy, for on-time delivery, and greater profitability. Another 51风流customer, an energy and natural resources company, digitalised operations to better track freight emissions, providing real-time metrics for compliance with carbon neutral goals.

Interconnected data for supply chain resilience

Brecknell said there鈥檚 been significant customer uptake of SAP鈥檚 Business Network solution that brings together information from sourcing and production through finance, transportation logistics and delivery, including the entire product life cycle. With immediate, connected insights, companies can more profitably sense and respond to disruptions in a strategic, synchronised manner. Organisations can create more individualised, high-quality products in response to changing customer demands. They can prove their sustainability commitment as reflected in their choice of suppliers and operations. They can even attract and keep top talent who increasingly expect employer goals and actions to mirror personal sustainability values.

鈥淭丑别 allows organisations to connect all of their business partners on one central platform,鈥� said Brecknell. 鈥淲ith complete visibility into the entire supply chain, companies can collaborate with suppliers to source, track, and trace materials faster for shorter product delivery time frames as well.鈥�

As Barkman said during the broadcast, 鈥渂y capturing all the information about how the supply chain is operating, we preserve the digital thread of the supply chain. We have the information of how a product is being used, how assets are performing, and feed that back not just to the supply chain and manufacturing, but all the way to how products are designed.鈥�

Making a business case for supply chain networks

The elephant in the room is that interconnected business networks aren鈥檛 the reality in most organisations. Brecknell agreed that while connecting all this data and changing mindsets about how business operates is a huge undertaking, it鈥檚 well worth it.

鈥淥rganisations are getting on board with supply chain resiliency and sustainability because it鈥檚 good for business. With an extended collaborative network, organisations can mitigate supply chain risk even in the face of unexpected disruption,鈥� said Brecknell. 鈥淚f an organisation really wants to build resiliency and sustainability into supply chain, they have to have the data, and that has to be aligned across the entire supply chain.鈥�

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