Van Dijk Educatie

What Van Dijk Educatie does

VanDijk Educatie (legal entity VanDijk B.V.) is an independent Dutch educational service provider for secondary education (voortgezet onderwijs), headquartered in Kampen, Netherlands, with secondary operations in Lokeren, Belgium under the Studieshop.be brand. Founded in 1927 as a second-hand textbook seller, the company is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Learning Network B.V. and serves approximately 1,100 educational institutions and 475,000–500,000 students annually in the Netherlands and Belgium, delivering more than 7 million physical study books and approximately 2.8 million digital licenses per year sourced from 300+ publishers. VanDijk's core platform stack comprises the VanDijk Catalogus (a method-comparison catalog with 300+ publishers), MijnVanDijk (a school portal with School Intelligence dashboards), LML Next (learning-materials-list composition tool), Persoonlijke Schoolomgeving (PSO), Collectief Magazijn (collective used-book warehouse for circular distribution), and Digitale Boekenplank (temporary digital substitutes when physical materials are unavailable).

The business model spans distribution of physical and digital learning materials, advisory and contract-management services delivered through dedicated account teams (accountmanager, relatiebeheerder, onderwijsadviseur, specialist digitaal, implementatiemanager), B2C ordering through leerlingen.vandijk.nl and the LML+ app, and add-on services such as the Regeling Schade en Diefstal damage/theft protection (€26.95 per school year). Revenue mechanics blend one-time material sales under the Wet Gratis Schoolboeken (free textbooks) scheme, recurring digital license fees via the Edu-iX platform, and hybrid LiFo (license + folio/rental) arrangements. Logistics are executed through PostNL with CO2-neutral packaging on ~700,000 annual packages. The company is regulated via ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO/NEN 26000, Edu-V (version 4.1 processor agreement), and partnerships with Stichting SEM, MVO Nederland, and Nationale DenkTank, with historical scale built through a 2003–2005 roll-up of roughly 25 acquisitions.

The customer base is fragmented across 1,100 Dutch and Flemish secondary institutions, served via enterprise field sales rather than named account concentration; named partners include Stichting Lucas Onderwijs, Vereniging Ons Middelbaar Onderwijs, OCW, SLO, Kennisnet, Libreon, and Carmel, primarily through consultation and policy groups rather than as procurement clients. Marketing is conducted via corporate website, LinkedIn, customer-day events, sustainability content, and direct account-team outreach. VanDijk employs approximately 150 permanent staff year-round, scaling to 1,500+ seasonal workers during summer peak operations.

Name

Van Dijk Educatie

Legal name

VanDijk B.V.

Website

https://vandijk.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

VanDijk Educatie is an independent Dutch educational service provider for secondary schools, distributing 7M+ textbooks and 2.8M digital licenses annually from 300+ publishers to approximately 1,100 schools and 500,000 students in the Netherlands and Belgium; a subsidiary of The Learning Network B.V.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Materials Distribution

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Library & Learning Space Managed Operations (Circulation, Scheduling, Staffing) (EDAEALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories (EDAFACAJ), Digital Learning, EdTech Enablement & Connectivity for Education (BPADAKAH)

Keywords

• Educational materials distribution
• Secondary education services
• Textbook distribution
• Digital learning licenses
• School procurement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Physical Educational Materials Sales: Sale of physical textbooks and study materials to students and schools. VanDijk delivers over 7 million study books annually to secondary education students. Revenue comes from school-funded purchases (under free textbooks law) and direct student purchases for supplementary materials.
2. Digital Licenses: Sale and distribution of approximately 2.8 million digital licenses for educational content annually. Digital licenses are delivered directly to school learning environments or individual student accounts.
3. Damage and Theft Protection Service: Service offering where VanDijk reimburses damage/theft costs (300-500 euro per book package) for 26.95 euros per order per school year. This is an optional service that schools or students can purchase.
4. LiFo (License + Folio) Products: Hybrid rental/ownership model combining license and folio (rental) elements. Learning-work books within LiFo concept become student property. This model is being scaled down in favor of used book reuse.
5. Educational Advisory Services: VanDijk advises schools on learning processes, learning environments, and (digital) educational materials choices. Advisory services include workshops and support for school improvement.
6. Contract Management Services: Services related to contract implementation and management for schools, including coordination of supply chain processes, implementation of agreements, and ongoing support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

VanDijk Educatie is the largest independent educational service provider for secondary education (voortgezet onderwijs) in the Netherlands and Belgium. The company distributes approximately 7 million physical study books and 2.8 million digital learning licenses annually to about 1,100 schools and 500,000 students, while also providing advisory services, online catalog and ordering platforms (VanDijk Catalogus, MijnVanDijk, LML Next), and supporting services such as collective used-book warehousing and damage/theft protection.

Product overview

VanDijk Educatie operates as an independent educational service provider for secondary education (voortgezet onderwijs) in the Netherlands and Belgium. The company offers an integrated platform of products and services organized around a year-cycle model, from orientation to return of materials. Core offerings include the VanDijk Catalogus (online catalog for comparing educational methods), MijnVanDijk (online portal with management dashboards and School Intelligence), LML Next (learning materials list tool), the Collectief Magazijn (collective used book warehouse), and the Digitale Boekenplank (temporary digital alternatives). Students access materials through LML+ and MijnVanDijk portals. Supporting services include LiFo (license and folio concept), damage/theft insurance, and the VanDijk Academie for staff training. The company is part of The Learning Network (TLN) alongside Studers (mbo), Studystore (hbo/wo), and Studieshop.be (Belgium).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VanDijk Catalogus Online catalog for searching, comparing, and orienting on educational methods and learning materials from over 300 Dutch publishers for secondary education.
• MijnVanDijk Online platform for schools providing management information, School Intelligence dashboards, and access to ordering, delivery, license usage, invoicing, and return processes.
• LML Next Learning materials list tool enabling schools to quickly select methods and materials to compose learning materials lists, with relationship managers monitoring progress.
• Persoonlijke Schoolomgeving (PSO) Personal School Environment portal for schools to manage orders, track deliveries, and access supplementary ordering functionality, including School Intelligence analytics.
• LML+ Order application for students to purchase their book packages online through the web storefront.
• VanDijk Collectief Magazijn Collective warehouse service for used books, allowing schools to exchange shared inventory, purchase reused books cost-effectively, and optionally outsource damage/loss management to VanDijk with quality control and sustainable reuse.
• Digitale Boekenplank Digital bookshelf providing temporary digital materials for unavailable titles when physical materials are not yet available, ensuring education continuity is minimally hindered.
• LiFo (Licentie en Folio) Combined license and folio concept for educational materials combining digital licenses with physical book rental options, allowing learning-work books within LiFo concept to become student property.
• Regeling Schade en Diefstal (Damage and Theft Protection) Damage and theft protection service costing €26.95 per order, covering replacement costs (typically €300-€500 per book package) for books damaged or stolen outside the student's fault during one school year.
• Educational Advisory Services Advisory services provided by onderwijsadviseurs (education advisors) on learning processes, learning environments, and (digital) educational materials choices, including workshops and school improvement support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivers over 7 million study books annually to secondary education
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PostNLcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023PostNL is VanDijk's primary logistics partner for package delivery in the Netherlands and Belgium. Since 2023, they partner on CO2-neutral packaging using FSC-certified cardboard with optimized package filling, reducing environmental impact. The collaboration includes electric PostNL trucks and sustainable delivery solutions, with approximately 700,000 packages delivered annually.
• Edu-VcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdu-V is a framework established by educational sector and branch organizations in primary, secondary, special, and vocational education. VanDijk is a partner making new agreements that enable teachers, students, and learners to use digital applications more easily and securely. VanDijk participates in working groups and contributes to standards development.
• Stichting SEM (Samenwerkende Educatieve Marktpartijen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEM is an implementation organization representing various parties from the educational materials chain including educational publishers, distributors, LMS, and school portals. VanDijk participates to ensure smooth distribution of digital learning materials to secondary and vocational education students annually.
• MVO NederlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVanDijk is a partner of MVO Nederland, a network of sustainable entrepreneurs working to transition to a circular economy. Through this partnership, VanDijk contributes to making sustainable business the standard and connects with other companies sharing environmental goals.
• Nationale DenkTankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVanDijk was theme partner in Nationale DenkTank 2021 (theme: Quality of primary and secondary education) and contributed to solutions for educational challenges. This partnership involves financial support, co-creation, and advisory roles in multidisciplinary teams of young scientists.
• Stichting WisselkrachtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation that enables teacher exchanges and professional development opportunities across primary and secondary education. VanDijk's education advisor Rachel Snijder serves as chairman. VanDijk supports this initiative as part of its commitment to educational quality improvement.
• RandstadminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRandstad assists VanDijk with seasonal staffing, providing over 1,500 temporary workers during peak seasons. Additionally, they partner on a national pilot providing work placements for asylum seekers through the Central Consult Asylum Seekers program.
• Soleo Contact CenterminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSoleo provides customer service operations for VanDijk, handling customer questions using necessary personal data under a processing agreement that ensures GDPR compliance and confidentiality.
• BuckaroocoreTechnology or IntegrationBuckaroo serves as VanDijk's payment service provider, processing payments through iDEAL, credit card, and In3 installment payments. They function as intermediary for all payment transactions.
• The Learning Network B.V.coreOthersThe Learning Network is the overarching parent organization for VanDijk (secondary education Netherlands), Studieshop (secondary education Belgium), Studers (MBO), Studystore (HBO/WO), and Academy for Learning (teachers). VanDijk operates as a subsidiary under this network.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Iddink (Sanoma Learning): Iddink is the largest direct competitor to VanDijk in Dutch secondary education materials distribution, now owned by Sanoma Learning. Both serve schools with textbook procurement, digital licensing, and advisory services under the same Free Textbooks framework, with comparable school customer bases in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Standaard Boekhandel / Standaard Boekverhuur: Belgian educational materials distributor and bookstore chain operating in the same Belgian secondary education market as VanDijk's Studieshop.be subsidiary. Both serve Flemish schools with textbook distribution and digital license management under comparable regulatory frameworks.
• Studystore: Sister brand under The Learning Network B.V. serving HBO/WO students with textbook rental and sales. Comparable business model (educational materials distribution with digital + physical) and shared operational infrastructure, though serving higher education rather than secondary education.
• Studers: MBO-focused sister brand under The Learning Network B.V. providing textbook and learning materials services to Dutch vocational education students. Comparable distribution model and customer approach, serving an adjacent segment of the Dutch education market.

Broad incumbents

• Malmberg (Sanoma Learning): Major Dutch educational publisher (part of Sanoma Learning group) that distributes through both its own channels and partner networks including VanDijk and Iddink. Comparable as a curriculum and learning materials provider, though vertically integrated into publishing rather than purely distribution-focused.
• ThiemeMeulenhoff: Leading Dutch educational publisher for secondary education, distributing methods through VanDijk and competitor channels. Comparable in that both produce and distribute learning materials for the same Dutch VO market, though ThiemeMeulenhoff is publisher-led while VanDijk is independent distributor-led.
• Noordhoff (formerly Wolters-Noordhoff): Dutch educational publisher (now part of Alex Groep) providing textbooks and digital learning materials for Dutch secondary education. Comparable target market and product category as VanDijk, though distribution and publisher roles differ.
• Plantyn: Belgian educational publisher and learning platform provider serving Flemish secondary education. Comparable in that both deliver educational content to Belgian secondary schools through digital and physical channels, though Plantyn focuses on content creation and VanDijk on independent distribution.

Regional players

• HEY (formerly Heijnis & Schipper): Dutch supplier of educational materials and school supplies serving primary and secondary schools. Comparable in distribution and procurement services to Dutch schools, though with stronger primary education focus and less digital infrastructure than VanDijk.
• ACL (Algemene Centrale Leveranciers): Belgian distributor of educational and office supplies to schools and institutions. Comparable B2B distribution model serving the Belgian education market, though broader in scope (office + education supplies) and less specialized in secondary textbook distribution than VanDijk.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@vandijk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vandijk

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Van Dijk Educatie