Lichtvis
Lichtvis is a Belgian schoolbook ordering and distribution platform serving primary and secondary schools across Flanders with proprietary ordering, billing, and logistics software, augmented by the AI-enabled Brightbook authoring tool.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersBrugge, Belgium
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lichtvis does
Lichtvis is a privately held Belgian company founded in 2015, headquartered in Brugge, that provides end-to-end schoolbook ordering, distribution, and billing services to primary and secondary schools across the Flanders (Vlaanderen) region. Its core product is the Lichtvisplatform — a proprietary Ruby on Rails application hosted on Heroku with Sendgrid-powered email communications — which enables schools to consolidate multi-publisher orders into a single workflow, manage per-student or bulk packaging, track payments and returns, and administer financial-aid mechanisms. The company operates its own climate-controlled warehouse in Oostkamp, staffed in part through a partnership with OptimaT (a sheltered workshop), and supports two distribution models: per-student pre-packaged delivery (fijndistributie) and bulk delivery for school-side assembly (bulkdistributie).
The business model is transaction-based: schools and parents pay for schoolbooks through the platform, and Lichtvis retains a margin that is shared with participating schools. Revenue is supplemented by administration of the Robinpas discount program (25% off, up to €40) through a partnership with Stichting Robin, which settles directly with the foundation on behalf of families. Go-to-market is sales-led and inside-sales oriented, relying on online info sessions (infosessies), direct email and phone outreach, and word-of-mouth referrals within the Flemish school community. Marketing channels include a website, Facebook page, and email.
The company has begun extending beyond physical book distribution into digital learning content via Brightbook, a sub-brand authoring tool that enables teachers to create and manage digital and hybrid learning materials. Through the Art-IE project, Lichtvis is integrating generative AI into Brightbook to help teachers automatically structure existing course materials into didactic building blocks. This positions Lichtvis as an evolving player in the Flemish education services market, with potential to expand its addressable spend category from physical logistics into digital content tooling, while remaining constrained geographically to the Dutch-speaking Belgian education market.
Lichtvis firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lichtvis
- Legal name
- Lichtvis
- Website
- https://lichtvis.be
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Lichtvis is a Belgian schoolbook ordering and distribution platform serving primary and secondary schools across Flanders with proprietary ordering, billing, and logistics software, augmented by the AI-enabled Brightbook authoring tool.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lichtvis industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Educational Distribution Services
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Educational & Academic Publishing Distribution (Textbooks) (CRAOALAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Office, School & Business Supplies Online Retailers (CRAFADAL), Student Information Systems (SIS) & School Administration Platforms (EDAJAMAB)
Keywords
Where Lichtvis is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brugge
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Lichtvis business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Schoolbook Sales and Distribution: One-time transaction-based revenue from the sale and distribution of schoolbooks to students and schools. Schools place orders through the Lichtvis platform, and students/parents pay for the books. Lichtvis handles procurement, logistics, and delivery to schools in Vlaanderen.
- Robinpas Discount Administration: Lichtvis administers the Robinpas discount program (25% discount up to €40) for Stichting Robin, directly settling with the foundation rather than requiring families to seek reimbursement separately.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Robinpas Discount for Financially Challenged Families |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Lichtvis product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lichtvis provides end-to-end schoolbook procurement, packaging, delivery, and billing services to primary and secondary schools in Flanders, Belgium, via its proprietary Lichtvisplatform. Schools can choose Fijndistributie (per-student packaging) or Bulkdistributie (bulk delivery for in-school assembly), with free shipping, free returns until end of September, transparent invoicing, and direct administration of the Robinpas social discount through Stichting Robin.
Product overview
Lichtvis operates as a unified school book distribution service for primary and secondary schools across Flanders, Belgium, founded in 2015. Its core product is the proprietary Lichtvisplatform — a self-developed software-as-a-service tool that manages the full lifecycle of school book orders, from ordering and logistics to transparent invoicing and returns processing. The platform supports two education segments: primary (lager onderwijs) and secondary (secundair onderwijs) schools, with flexible distribution models (fine distribution per student vs. bulk delivery per school). A complementary product, Brightbook, is an AI-powered authoring tool enabling teachers to create and manage digital and hybrid learning materials. Lichtvis also offers a gamified web game (Pakvis) as an engagement element.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Brightbook: An innovative project for digital and hybrid learning materials. An author tool enabling teachers to create, manage, and offer digital educational content. Within the Art-IE project, Brightbook incorporates generative AI to help teachers automatically structure existing course materials into didactic building blocks.
Products and services
- Lichtvis Schoolbook Distribution Service End-to-end schoolbook ordering, packaging, delivery, billing, and payment management service for primary and secondary schools in Flanders, offered via the proprietary Lichtvisplatform with two distribution models (per-student packaging and bulk delivery), free shipping on annual and mid-year orders, free returns until end of September, transparent invoicing, and direct administration of the Robinpas social discount with Stichting Robin.
- Brightbook Authoring tool that enables teachers to create, manage, and offer digital and hybrid learning materials, with generative AI integration via the Art-IE project to automatically structure existing course materials into didactic building blocks for primary and secondary education.
Quantifiable outcome
- 60,000 secondary students and 650+ primary schools served
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Lichtvis
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Lichtvis technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature2 records
Lichtvis partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OptimaTcoreOptimaT is a maatwerkbedrijf (sheltered workshop) from Lichtervelde that provides sustainable employment to people with a distance to the labor market. A team of OptimaT workers comes daily to Lichtvis warehouse to assist with picking, packaging, and preparing orders. This partnership combines social impact with operational capability, helping ensure every school receives books on time while providing meaningful employment opportunities.
- Art-IEminorArt-IE is an innovative project that promotes AI applications in education. Within this project, Lichtvis is working on integrating generative AI into Brightbook, their authoring tool for teachers. The AI support helps teachers automatically structure existing course materials into didactic building blocks.
- Stichting RobincoreStichting Robin focuses on equal educational opportunities. Through this partnership, schools can directly support families in financially challenging situations via the Lichtvis platform. Families receive a 25% discount on their Lichtvis order (max €40) through the Robinpas program. Lichtvis handles the discount settlement directly with Stichting Robin, eliminating the need for families to seek separate reimbursement.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lichtvis competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- BBLT (Boek.be): BBLT is a Belgian schoolbook distributor serving schools with textbook and educational material distribution. It operates in the same Belgian market as Lichtvis and serves a similar customer base, making it a regional comparitor in the schoolbook distribution space.
- Plantyn: Plantyn is a Belgian educational publisher and learning materials provider for primary and secondary schools. While primarily a publisher rather than a distributor, it operates in the same Belgian educational ecosystem and serves overlapping school customers, making it directly comparable for Lichtvis's publisher relationships and market positioning.
- Die Keure: Die Keure is a Belgian educational publisher providing textbooks and learning materials for primary and secondary schools in Flanders. It is a key supplier of the books Lichtvis distributes and shares the same Flemish school customer base, making it comparable as both a partner and potential competitive threat if it vertically integrates into distribution.
- Pelckmans Uitgevers: Pelckmans is a Belgian educational publisher specializing in textbooks and learning materials for Flemish schools. It supplies books to Lichtvis and serves the same primary and secondary school market, making it directly comparable in terms of customer overlap and product offerings.
- Standaard Boekhandel: Standaard Boekhandel is a Belgian bookstore chain that also handles textbook sales for schools. While primarily a retail chain, it overlaps with Lichtvis in the schoolbook market and represents a potential alternative for schools purchasing textbooks in Belgium.
Emerging players
- BookWidgets: BookWidgets is a Belgian educational technology company that provides interactive learning materials and digital content creation tools for teachers. It is comparable to Lichtvis's Brightbook offering in addressing the digital learning materials market for K-12 schools in Belgium and beyond.
- Snappet: Snappet is a Dutch educational technology company providing digital learning materials and adaptive learning solutions for primary schools. It represents the digital learning trend that threatens traditional schoolbook distribution and is comparable to Lichtvis's evolution through Brightbook.
Direct peers
- Van Dijk Educatie: Van Dijk is one of the largest schoolbook distributors in the Netherlands, providing books, digital learning materials, and educational services to primary and secondary schools. It is structurally comparable to Lichtvis in serving the same customer base (K-12 schools) with a similar offering of physical book distribution integrated with digital services.
- Malmers: Malmers is a Swedish schoolbook distributor providing educational materials distribution services to schools. It operates a similar business model to Lichtvis in a different European market, making it directly comparable for business model and operational structure insights.
- Iddink (Sanoma Learning): Iddink, part of Sanoma Learning, is a leading European schoolbook distributor and educational content provider. It directly competes with Lichtvis in the schoolbook distribution market, offering similar services to schools across multiple European countries including the Netherlands and Belgium.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lichtvis social profiles
Digital presenceLichtvis financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lichtvis leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Lichtvis funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lichtvis M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lichtvis
What does Lichtvis do?
Lichtvis provides end-to-end schoolbook procurement, packaging, delivery, and billing services to primary and secondary schools in Flanders, Belgium, via its proprietary Lichtvisplatform. Schools can choose Fijndistributie (per-student packaging) or Bulkdistributie (bulk delivery for in-school assembly), with free shipping, free returns until end of September, transparent invoicing, and direct administration of the Robinpas social discount through Stichting Robin.
Is Lichtvis a public or private company?
Lichtvis is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Lichtvis founded?
Lichtvis was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Lichtvis based?
Lichtvis is headquartered in Brugge, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Lichtvis make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Schoolbook Sales and Distribution is the primary driver. The others are robinpas Discount Administration.
Who are Lichtvis's main competitors?
Regional players on record are BBLT (Boek.be), Plantyn, Die Keure, Pelckmans Uitgevers and Standaard Boekhandel. Emerging players are BookWidgets and Snappet. Direct peers are Van Dijk Educatie, Malmers and Iddink (Sanoma Learning).
Does Lichtvis have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lichtvis.
What industry is Lichtvis in?
Lichtvis's product category is Educational Distribution Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAOALAC, Educational & Academic Publishing Distribution (Textbooks), with a secondary code of CRAFADAL, Office, School & Business Supplies Online Retailers. Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 5110.