In Brief: U.S. Bancorp Wins Lockheed Card Contract

U.S. Bancorp has won a five-year contract to become the exclusive purchasing card provider for Lockheed Martin Corp., the bank announced Monday.

U.S. Bancorp, the largest issuer of Visa corporate cards, says Lockheed Martin's purchasing card program generates $750 million in annual charges, more than any other company in the world. The program includes all 110 business units of Lockheed Martin, the Bethesda, Md.-based defense contractor and technology conglomerate.

U.S. Bancorp said its system will "create cost savings and synergies among 50 different accounting systems" for Lockheed Martin. The bank has provided corporate travel and entertainment cards for the company since 1997, and won a competitive bid for the new purchasing card program.

Lockheed Martin said the purchasing card program will cut its traditional procurement and accounts payable process from nine steps to four. The company estimates the program will eliminate about 700,000 accounts-payable transactions annually, thus reducing processing costs.

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