Welcome as a customer
Getting started with iDistributor
This guide helps you understand the legal requirement, prepare your organisation, and connect your business system — step by step.
1 Legislation 2 Things to consider 3 Technical implementation 4 Overview & follow-up
Background
Why do I need to send SDS?
The REACH regulation sets clear requirements for everyone who distributes chemical products. Here is what you need to know.
REACH (EC) No 1907/2006 — Article 31:8
Safety Data Sheets must be provided free of charge, on paper or in electronic form. Publishing an SDS on a website is not sufficient — a more active approach is required, such as sending a direct link or attaching the SDS by email.
Who is affected?
The obligation applies to these roles
Manufacturer
Companies that manufacture chemical products and sell them to professional customers.
Importer
Companies that import chemical products into the EU/EEA for onward sale.
Distributor
Companies that purchase and redistribute chemical products to professional end customers.
Agent (Only Representative)
Companies acting as legal representative in the EU for a non-EU manufacturer of chemical products.
The two obligations
When must an SDS be sent?
1. At the first delivery
An SDS for the product must be actively provided to the customer no later than the first delivery of a chemical product. This applies to all chemical products classified as hazardous that are sold to professional customers.
2. When an SDS is updated
When an SDS is updated with a new revision, it must be automatically sent to all customers who have purchased the product within the last 12 months — regardless of whether they have placed a new order.
Why iDistributor? Keeping track of who has received which SDS, in which language, and ensuring updates reach the right customers — manually — is practically impossible at scale. iDistributor automates the entire flow and gives you full traceability.
Record-keeping
How long must SDS be retained?
10-year retention requirement
REACH requires that SDS — both those you create and those you receive — are retained for at least 10 years. They may need to be presented during an inspection. In iDistributor, all current and previous revisions are stored on each product's information page.
Important to understand
Products and SDS are not always 1 to 1
Multiple products — one SDS
The same chemical composition can be sold in several packaging sizes, resulting in multiple article numbers in your ERP. Since the chemical mixture is identical, there is only one SDS in the system.
Art.no 1001 — Paint 1L
Art.no 1002 — Paint 5L
Art.no 1003 — Paint 10L
→
1 SDS
One product — multiple SDS
A product can also require multiple SDS. An adhesive consisting of a base and a hardener has one article number in the ERP — but since the base and hardener are separate chemical mixtures, iDistributor handles them as two distinct SDS.
Art.no 2001 — Adhesive (base + hardener)
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SDS — Base
SDS — Hardener
Practical implication: When you send an article number to iDistributor, the system may need to send one or several SDS depending on the product's composition. This is also why suppliers do not provide unique identifiers on SDS — the same data sheet can cover multiple product variants.
Things to consider →