John Ellis spent nearly three decades helping dealers navigate inventory, operations, and market shifts before realizing that the industry's biggest challenge wasn't a lack of data—it was knowing what to do with it.

In this episode of ASOTU Unscripted, John shares how a consulting project born during the COVID inventory crisis evolved into Agile Auto, a platform designed to help dealers make smarter inventory decisions, communicate strategy more effectively, and turn information into action.

Sometimes the best ideas don't start with a business plan—they start with a spreadsheet.

After nearly 30 years in automotive, including leadership roles at Cox Automotive, ADP, and Gulf States Toyota, John Ellis saw a problem emerge during the inventory disruptions of the COVID era. Dealers were making critical decisions with incomplete information, outdated processes, and limited visibility into what was coming next.

What began as a consulting effort soon became something bigger.

Working alongside dealer partners, John helped develop a framework for managing inventory more strategically. The first version lived in spreadsheets. The next became software. Eventually, that software evolved into Agile Auto, a platform designed to help dealerships move beyond gut instinct and reactive decision-making toward a more consistent, data-driven approach.

Joined by dealer partners JR and Rob Dell, the conversation explores the realities of building technology for automotive retail. John shares how the team initially assumed dealers would immediately understand the value of what they had built—only to learn that listening was more important than launching. That lesson reshaped the company's approach and ultimately led to broader adoption.

The discussion also highlights an important truth about dealership technology: data alone isn't enough. The real challenge is making information accessible to the people responsible for acting on it. For high-performing operators like Rob Dell, the value wasn't simply seeing more data—it was creating a way for entire teams to understand it, align around it, and execute more effectively.

Whether you're managing inventory, evaluating automotive technology, or leading a dealership team, this episode is a reminder that the best solutions often come from curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to keep learning.

Timestamped Takeaways

00:00 – Live from ASOTUCON 2026

00:59 – John Ellis's 28-year automotive journey

02:10 – Why John left corporate automotive to start a company

02:56 – From consulting services to software development

03:19 – Expectation vs. reality when launching a startup

04:19 – The spreadsheet that became a software platform

06:24 – Scaling dealership technology beyond a single rooftop

07:24 – Using AI and predictive inventory intelligence

08:45 – Buying inventory for future demand, not today's needs

09:33 – How data helps dealers get off the inventory roller coaster

11:25 – Rob Dell on translating analytics into action

13:40 – Creating team buy-in through better visibility

16:17 – John's leadership lesson: stay curious

17:00 – Technology, strategy, and understanding your business model

John Ellis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ellis-9754bb4/

JR Toothman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jr-toothman-a5446751/

Agile Auto: https://www.agileauto.io/

Rob Dell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-dell-952816b/

Learn more about ASOTU CON: https://www.asotucon.com/

More Than Cars: https://www.morethancars.com

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