PWC Logistics of Kuwait, a global provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions, announced it had been awarded the Subsistence Prime Vendor contract for the provision of food and related items to the US Military in Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan by the US Defence Logistics Agency (DLA).  

The total value of the contract may reach up to KD4.1 billion ($14 billion) over a five-year period.
This contract, which starts in December 2005, will preserve the continuity of PWC's Prime Vendor service to the US Military.
Currently, PWC procures, warehouses, and transports subsistence items, including dry goods, frozen foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and baked items to the US Military in Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, and Qatar under a contract, which expires in December 2005. 
The contract is divided into four time periods, an initial 18-month commitment followed by two back-to-back 12-month and one final 18-month extension options.  
For each 12-month period, the contract value may reach up to KD823 million ($2.8 billion).  
The actual value for each time period will depend on the volume of services required.  
Services will be provided by PWC operations located in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey.
Toby Switzer, PWC Logistics general manager, Prime Vendor, commented, 'It's a clear vote of confidence by the DLA in our ability to execute under all conditions.'  
PWC also announced it will be providing supporting logistics services in Afghanistan.
The company had won a $3.27 billion Pentagon deal in mid-February for 'subsistence items' for US armed forces.
In other recent developments, PWC Logistics and US-based Transoceanic Shipping Co, a leading international freight forwarding and logistics management company, jointly announced that Transoceanic would merge into PWC.  
Under the terms of the agreement, PWC will own all shares of Transoceanic.
This union forms one of the world's largest specialised logistics management providers, with offices in 28 countries spread across the globe.
Transoceanic will gain access to the resources needed to continue its rapid growth, including PWC's strong IT platform.
Transoceanic will also be able to leverage PWC's infrastructure in the Middle East, Africa and Asia to offer its customers an expanded range of supply chain services. 
 'As the Middle East continues its tremendous growth surge in the oil and gas sector (both upstream and downstream); industrial; and power verticals, the combination of PWC Logistics and Transoceanic provides the comprehensive logistics solutions these industries need to keep pace with the rapidly changing market conditions,' a PWC spokesman said.
With the skill set and the technical expertise of Transoceanic, PWC will be able to better serve its customer base in future projects, he added.
 'Transoceanic built its outstanding reputation by focusing on execution and exceeding customer expectations,' commented Tarek Sultan, chairman of PWC Logistics.  
He continued: 'We look forward to working with them and providing our combined customer base an expanded service offering.'
Gregory Rusovich, CEO of Transoceanic, said: 'This transaction presents the entire Transoceanic team an opportunity to grow the company to new heights. This transaction also provides our customers with an enhanced global reach, scale and range of services.'
To further these opportunities, PWC and Transoceanic have already started identifying and pursuing cross-selling opportunities in the Middle East.   
Transoceanic is recognised throughout the world for its specialisation in the 'project freight' sector.   It serves the logistics requirements of such industry sectors as engineering, process construction, civil construction, government services, energy services and mining.