With Lode Peeters, technology federation has Agoria a versatile in-house chairman. As a director and manager, he uses openthebox in his various management positions, but also as a personal source of information for his other business activities.
Over the past decades, Lode Peeters has completed an impressive career as an IT entrepreneur. In addition to being chairman of Agoria, he is now also a director and consulting partner of companies such as Tobania-Sopra Steria, Response and TAXI. So Peeters knows the sector inside out, but that does not mean that he often goes back to openthebox to examine the players in the market - customers, suppliers and competitors.
“I was one of the first users of the platform,” he testifies. “And I was immediately hooked. Of course, there are other sources of information, such as the National Bank's Central Balance Sheet Office. But that interface, in my opinion, is very archaic and old-fashioned. Openthebox has been much more user-friendly and intuitive.”
Peeters calls himself a DIY enthusiast who likes to explore the possibilities of the application on his own. “Every once in a while, I happen to discover something new, but in the website's Help Center, I also find useful video clips and online tutorials to use the platform even more intensively and efficiently.”
“Openthebox shows you the consolidation over several years: this gives you an insight into the evolution over time.”
Lode Peeters, IT entrepreneur and director
Control tool for preparatory work
As an entrepreneur, Lode Peeters concludes contracts with various customers or suppliers. “During the preparatory work, openthebox is then a useful control tool to check whether such a party is solvent,” he explains. “You can easily and quickly find out whether it has sufficient reserves or capital. In addition, the tool shows you the consolidation over several years: this gives you an immediate view of the evolution over time.”
“I invariably consult the financial ratios of companies, but I don't have a financial and analytical background. So I have to be a bit careful when it comes to interpreting it. Comparing with benchmarks is then the solution.”
“The fact that you can view staff and other social data about companies in openthebox is also useful. But also that you can check who the person you are going to negotiate with is. Which companies is he associated with as a director, and what other business structures does he exist in: you can see that at a glance thanks to the spiderweb function. Of course, LinkedIn is also a source of information that can provide insight, but that doesn't reveal connections.”
“I was one of the first users of the openthebox platform. And I was immediately hooked. '
Lode Peeters, IT entrepreneur and director.
Examining competition
Lode Peeters also uses openthebox to know how his competitors are in the market. “This allows me to quickly validate information that I have received elsewhere,” he explains. “If you've heard something about, for example, their results or shareholders via an informal channel, you can check that info with one click.”
“In my opinion, the fact that the openthebox platform lists its various data sources - including the statutes - and that you can click through them as a user completes the whole thing.”
In his management and leadership positions, Peeters says he mainly looks at data at the strategic level. “For me, the essence is: consolidated financial data and business structures,” he explains. “But I work closely with all kinds of people from legal, financial and M&A departments. Rather, such specialists look in depth, and that is also possible within openthebox with a few simple clicks.”
According to Lode Peeters, the key words that characterize openthebox:
- Unique
- User friendly
- Intuitive
- Visually
- Detailed
- Comprehensive
- Enriching
