Why a folder of PDFs is not a library
A supplier SDS holds all the information your team uses every day, including details on composition, hazards, handling, exposure limits and transport. Because the information is stored in PDF format, it is locked inside each file. You can open a document, but you can't ask the folder a question such as "which of our raw materials contain this CAS number?" or "which SDSs are more than five years old?"
Digitizing an SDS library means converting each document into a structured record with the same fields and then linking it back to the original file. The software carries out the reading and extraction, but the project begins before the software is even started. Here is the order we recommend.
Step 1: Find every SDS you already have
SDSs tend to stay wherever they first arrived. Before you begin to extract anything, gather them all into a single location.
Check every location. Look in the purchasing and receiving inboxes, the shared drives, the binders in the office, supplier portals and older systems.
Keep the latest version. When there are multiple versions of an SDS, work with the latest one and archive the others. Section 16 of an SDS has to give the date it was prepared or last revised, so that date tells you which version is current.
One SDS per file. Split merged PDFs so that each file contains a single SDS.
Name files consistently. Use the product name, the supplier's name and the revision date in the file name so it's easy to match records to documents later.
Step 2: Match the SDSs to what you actually buy
A library is only complete when it includes all the hazardous raw materials you use. Get a list of the raw materials currently in use from purchasing or your ERP system and compare it with the SDSs you've collected.
You'll generally find three groups: items with a current SDS, items with an old or duplicate SDS, and items with no SDS on file. The third group is a finding in itself. Under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, employers must have an SDS in the workplace for each hazardous chemical they use, and if a labeled hazardous chemical arrives without an SDS, they must get one from the manufacturer or importer as soon as possible. So ask the relevant suppliers for the missing SDSs before going further.
Step 3: Decide which fields you need
Choose your fields before extraction, based on the questions you need answered. A common starting set for a manufacturer:
Product name and supplier
Composition, CAS numbers and concentration ranges
Supplier-declared hazard classification, plus H and P statements
Physical and chemical properties used in your own products
Transport information, such as UN number
Revision date
Keep the supplier-declared classification as a separate field, since it shows what the supplier says. Your own products still need their own classification.
Step 4: Extract the data, then review it beside the source
There are two ways to get the fields out of each PDF: a person types them in, or software reads the document and extracts them. Typing works for a small number of documents, but it's slow, and retyping is where errors creep in, such as a mistyped CAS number or a misread range.
Whichever option you choose, check each record against the original PDF. Good extraction software helps you focus by giving each field a confidence score and highlighting the ones that need your attention. In Valenc SDS indexing, AI agents extract supplier information from PDFs, each field has a confidence score, and the source PDF is shown next to the record while you review it.
Step 5: Approve once, then reuse
Once a record has been reviewed and approved, it becomes your material data, which is the goal of the project. The next time a product uses that raw material, you pick the approved record instead of opening the PDF and retyping the values. In Valenc, approved records become material data that every product using the material can access, and the data can be exported to Excel or accessed via an API.
This is also the point where SDS data starts working as chemical data management, because reports like "every product containing this substance" become a search instead of a week of reading.
Step 6: Keep the library current
A digital library goes out of date if new revisions don't flow into it. Under the Hazard Communication Standard, chemical manufacturers and importers must provide an SDS with the initial shipment and with the first shipment after an SDS is updated. In practice, revised SDSs come with or just ahead of the next delivery, often by email.
Give revisions one route in. Agree where receiving and purchasing send new SDSs.
Compare against what you hold. When a revision arrives, check its revision date against your record and re-extract if it changed.
Review what changed. A new hazard statement or composition range in a supplier SDS can affect your own products. A trained person decides what happens next.
Where to start
If the entire library feels like too much, start with a batch, such as the raw materials in your highest-volume products or the suppliers who revise most often. A first batch shows how clean your documents are and how long review takes.
Valenc offers free SDS indexing to any chemical manufacturer through December 31, 2026. You send up to 100 SDSs through a secure portal and get an Excel index within 3 business days of when Valenc receives the documents, with no obligation to purchase. For more on how indexing fits into SDS management, see SDS management software: what it is and where indexing fits.