London and New York, Merck & Co., Inc, the global research-driven pharmaceutical company, has won the Treasury Today Adam Smith Award for Best Practice and Innovation in 2008 for the category ‘Harnessing the Power of Technology’.  The win came as a result of Merck’s implementation of Wallstreet Suite from Wall Street Systems, the global provider of treasury, trading and settlement solutions and services.  The winners were announced yesterday at a ceremony at The Four Seasons Hotel in Canary Wharf, London.

The treasury and cash management solution has enabled Merck to transform its worldwide treasury operations by reducing its cash management bank relationships from 100 to just three and significantly decreasing interface costs and bank fees.  Wallstreet Suite manages a complex treasury operation for Merck that entails the management of pools, funding, loans and inter-company lending, as well as cross-border payments.

Joergen Jensen, director of corporate solutions at Wall Street Systems, commented: “Our aim is to help our clients improve their operations, and Merck is a prime example of how we have achieved this.  We see this award as a testament to the continuous development of our solutions.”

The aim of the awards is to recognise outstanding achievement in solutions within the corporate treasury environment, which demonstrate best practice and/or innovation.  Richard Parkinson, managing director of Treasury Today said: “The judging criteria for these awards are tough and the competition was extremely strong.  Winning entries needed to demonstrate tangible results in the form of cost savings and above average ROI, through to exceptional implementation and quantitative improvements in efficiency.  To have won this award is therefore a significant accolade for Merck working in partnership with Wallstreet.”