How Alan Bracken Uses Vujis to Teach Importers How Global Trade Actually Works
If you've ever searched online for how to start importing, how to build an import/export business, or how global logistics really works, there's a good chance you've come across Alan Bracken.
Alan is one of the most experienced import/export educators teaching practical international trade today.
He is:
- Founder of ABTS® (Advanced Business Training Systems)
- Creator of one of the longest-running practical import/export training programs
- A former freight forwarding business owner
- A logistics trainer for organisations including the United Nations
- A guest lecturer on global logistics at UK universities
And today, Alan actively uses Vujis as part of how he explains real-world trade flows to importers and students learning international trade.
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Claim Your 10% DiscountFrom Accidental Importer to Industry Educator
Alan Bracken didn't start in international trade intentionally. His entry into importing and exporting happened almost by accident.
Early in his career, Alan was appointed to head the European office of an American company based in London. One of his responsibilities was managing imports from Chicago and distributing those goods across Europe. At the time, Alan had zero knowledge of import/export procedures.
Like many new companies entering international trade, he initially relied entirely on freight forwarders and clearing agents. It didn't take long for problems to appear:
- •Shipments were delayed
- •Costs seemed unclear
- •Charges kept increasing
- •Exports were sometimes impossible to trace
Alan soon realised his lack of knowledge was being used against him. Instead of continuing to rely blindly on intermediaries, he decided to learn the business himself.
Building & Selling a Successful Freight Forwarding Business
After gaining years of hands-on experience in international trade, Alan eventually launched his own freight forwarding business. The company became highly successful and grew quickly.
Alan credits that success to three key principles:
Bespoke Service
For every client
Deep Knowledge
Of global trade
Efficiency
Competitive pricing
After nine years of building and operating the company, Alan sold the business and shifted his focus toward education, founding ABTS® (Advanced Business Training Systems).
Teaching for the UN and Global Organizations
Throughout his career Alan has worked with a wide range of organisations including:
For over twelve years, he travelled internationally with UN agencies delivering logistics and supply chain training to both local and international staff.
Discovering Vujis: A Complete Game-Changer
"He opened my eyes completely to sourcing and very new methods of sourcing. It really did. He showed me on a demonstration that he could tell and give the information of who in Colombia ships bananas to who in the UK. And that was done like that — not making phone calls or emails the way I used to advocate to do it."
— Alan Bracken on discovering Vujis
For someone who had spent decades teaching the traditional methods of supplier sourcing — embassy contacts, chamber of commerce enquiries, endless cold calls — seeing real shipment data appear instantly was transformative.
"(Vujis) opened my eyes to the fact that I'm out of touch in many aspects." — Alan Bracken
That level of honesty from a veteran educator speaks volumes.
Why Alan Uses Vujis
1Teaching Importers How Global Supply Chains Actually Work
One of the biggest problems new importers face is understanding where products actually come from and how they move internationally.
With Vujis, Alan can demonstrate which countries import specific products, how supply chains move between regions, how trade flows change over time, and how markets expand or contract.
2Showing Students How to Identify Real Buyers and Suppliers
Alan uses Vujis to show how importers can identify active companies involved in specific product markets, analyse purchasing patterns across countries, and understand which companies are consistently buying specific goods.
3Helping Freight Forwarders Find Clients
"Your platform is ideal for freight forwarders starting their business. It's giving me a complete list of potential clients. I know where they're exporting to and I know what the commodity is and I can prepare myself with quotations. It's a wonderful tool for freight forwarding."
"Cold calling can be soul destroying. But wearing my old freight forwarder's cap, I thought my goodness — I can sit down here and pull up a list of exporters. I don't have to jump in a car. I don't have to make endless phone calls. I don't have to get rejection all over the place. Wonderful."
4Reducing Scam Risk in International Trade
"Indirectly, you're an anti-scamming company as well. You can see on the screen that Joe Bloggs in Brazil is a real company. This is what they export or import. It's taking the doubt out of first-time importers. Is this a real company? Are these real bananas here or is this some guy sitting in his flat in London somewhere scamming everybody?"
The Old Way vs The New Way
❌ The Old Way (Pre-Vujis)
- •Contact embassies and wait weeks for outdated supplier lists
- •Cold call chambers of commerce across multiple countries
- •Spend hours (or days) verifying if a company is legitimate
- •Rely on expensive trade missions and in-person visits
- •Make hundreds of cold calls with low success rates
- •Pay for market reports that are months out of date
✅ The New Way (With Vujis)
- Instant access to verified importers and exporters worldwide
- Real shipment data showing actual trade activity
- Searchable by product, country, company, or HS code
- Immediate verification of company legitimacy through shipment history
- Up-to-date market intelligence refreshed regularly
- Identify decision-makers and contact information
"I laugh because it brings back memories of laborious times I spent hours and hours trying to find this information and you're just going bing and there it is."
— Alan Bracken
Alan's Verdict
"This is the present. This is the way forward."
After decades in international trade and freight forwarding, Alan's assessment is clear: "Just forgetting the detail and the information you're putting up on the screen, the speed at which you're doing that is just unbelievable. It really is. It's mindboggling."
The Impact
Alan Bracken has spent decades teaching entrepreneurs and companies how international trade really works. From training UN purchasing managers to educating freight forwarders, from coaching first-time importers to advising Formula One racing teams — his career has touched every corner of global trade.
By integrating modern trade intelligence tools like Vujis into his training, he helps students move beyond theory and understand the real mechanics of global commerce. When an educator with Alan's level of hands-on experience incorporates a platform into how they teach the next generation of importers, it signals exactly how transformative that tool really is.