Robert Melton II | Page 179

One of my proudest contributions to our company has been the introduction of Internet-based sales and marketing long before it was commonplace. In 1997, the Internet was in its infancy and certainly not a sure thing, but I could see the possibilities. I made a network of friends around the country who were working on a mainframe server that could house all dealers' inventories online at one location. That company was Automallusa.com. Keep in mind, this was long before industry-wide powerhouses like Cars.com, and AutoTrader was still just a magazine at the local gas station! Building from the knowledge I gained working with Automallusa, I created a dealership-specific web server for our company inventory management and display. It was among one of the first dealership websites in the country. We published inventory, details, and pricing for customers in a way that was transparent and hassle free.