The Unsexy Side of Amazon: Listing Optimization, Flat Files & Catalog Management | Ft. Vanessa Hung

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 2 of the Digital Shelf Insider podcast by MetricsCart!This one's been a long time coming. Shreshta has been following Vanessa Hung's work since the podcast launched in late 2024, and this conversation was well worth the wait.Vanessa Hung is the CEO of  ⁨Online Seller Solutions⁩  and one of the most sought-after voices in the Amazon space when it comes to the technical, behind-the-scenes catalog work that most sellers either avoid or don't even know exists.Have you even looked at your flat files lately? Do you know what Amazon's internal systems have been doing to your backend attributes? Do you realize that the listing you think you own might no longer be yours?Vanessa and our host, Shreshta Joy, get into all of it. Flat files and category listing reports hijacks, what they are, why they matter, and why most brands are intimidated by them for no good reason (especially now that AI makes the process so much easier).Whether you're managing 15 SKUs or 15,000, this conversation is going to change how you think about the foundation of your Amazon business.In this episode:(0:00) Trailer(1:04) Intro(2:00) Guest Greetings: Welcoming Vanessa Hung(2:29) Invisible Operational Errors Draining Margins(5:34) The UI vs. Flat Files Dilemma(13:03) Mid-Roll Break: Metriscart Marketplace Intelligence(14:13) Managing Big Catalogs & Finding Core Attributes(21:01) When Should a Brand Hire a Technical Partner?(25:06) Optimizing Listings for AI Bots (Rufus & Cosmo)(33:54) Overcoming Error 8541 & Contribution Authority Loss(39:32) How Catalog Management Impacts BSR & Best Seller Badges(43:01) Top 3 Focus Areas for the 2026 AI Paradigm Shift(50:41) Outro Subscribe to the Digital Shelf Insider for weekly conversations with the sharpest minds in e-commerce, marketplace strategy, and brand growth; brought to you by MetricsCart.Is your product content telling one story on the frontend and a completely different one in the backend?MetricsCart is a digital commerce intelligence platform that helps brands take back control of their product content across every major retailer and marketplace. From real-time content compliance monitoring and listing accuracy checks to tracking unauthorized changes, missing attributes, and content discrepancies at the SKU level, MetricsCart gives you the visibility to catch what's broken before it costs you.Brands like Mattel, Illy, PVH, and P&G trust MetricsCart to keep their digital shelf clean, compliant, and conversion-ready. If your listings are supposed to be your storefront, shouldn't you know exactly what's on them? Learn more at metricscart.com.