The Defense Department organization in charge of transportation during times of peace and war has signed a contract with Northrop Grumman Corp. to establish supply chain management solutions.

Under an $8.8 million contract with the Transportation Command, Northrop Grumman will help establish a joint distribution process analysis center that will integrate analytic capabilities across the organization and support joint operations. The one-year contract has two one-year options.

Northrop Grumman’s Information Technology and its subcontractors will handle distribution performance analysis, organizational design and supply chain risk and analysis.

The team also will build and implement a knowledge management system, help align workforce skills and establish a training plan. The work will enable the command to perform key functions and processes more quickly and effectively, company officials said.

Northrop Grumman’s team includes Logistics Management Institute Government Contracting; Pittiglio, Rabin, Todd, McGrath; Stanley Associates; Ryder System Inc., FedEx Corp. and Washington University. The team will perform the majority of the work at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

The Joint Distribution Process Analysis Center supports cooperative operations among a handful of agencies responsible for military transportation.

Northrop Grumman, which has about 125,000 employees and had 2005 revenue of $30.7 billion, ranks No. 2 on Washington Technology’s 2006 Top 100 list of the largest federal IT contractors.