Wells Fargo & Co. this week will become the second major financial-services company to unveil a Web procurement service for its business customers. The bank views the as- yet-unnamed service as a way to leverage electronic commerce to expand relationships with its small and midsize business customers, which number in the millions.

The service is similar to one announced last month by Merrill Lynch & Co. Wells Fargo customers will use a browser to access RightWorks Corp.'s RightWorks 4 online procurement application on Wells Fargo servers, which will let them purchase goods through the MarketSite multisupplier electronic-catalog portal from Commerce One Inc.

Wells Fargo will begin testing the system with selected customers this fall. Before that, the bank will begin using RightWorks 4 and MarketSite for online procurement by its own employees from suppliers such as Boise Cascade Office Products.

Like Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo will seek volume discounts from suppliers by aggregating purchases from their customers. "We're a diversified financial-services company with lots of relationships with our business customers," says Matt Graves, senior VP of payment strategies. "This will enhance our ability to cross-sell."