How Manifest Built a Cost Effective Strategy for Near-Expiry Inventory

Overview

Manifest is an eco-friendly third-party logistics (E3PL) provider that offers sustainable warehousing, carbon-neutral shipping, and plastic-free packaging for retailers based in Austin, Texas. Between May 2024 and February 2025, Manifest’s Texas warehouse partnered with LiquiDonate to proactively route unsellable, near-expiration food and beverage inventory to nonprofit organizations. All products were nearing expiration and had no viable resale or liquidation pathway.

Across four structured donation events, Manifest:

• Cleared 20 pallet positions
  
• Donated 17,214 units
  
• Diverted 14,150 lbs (7+ tons) of food
  
• Generated $224,772 in charitable value
  

The partnership was highly successful, diverting over 14,000 pounds of food from the landfill. 

The Challenge

As a third-party logistics provider supporting multiple food and beverage brands, Manifest routinely manages inventory that becomes unsellable due to expiration timelines, seasonal shifts, or quality standards. 

This type of inventory creates real operational pressure:

• Pallet positions occupied by stagnant product
  
• Increased dwell time and congestion
  
• Storage and disposal costs
  
• Labor spent managing destruction
  
• ESG and sustainability reporting challenges
  
• Risk of last-minute cleanouts during peak season
  

Without a reliable exit channel, expiring food often becomes a reactive and costly problem, ending up in a landfill and hurting the environment. 

The Inventory Profile

Over a 10-month period, Manifest used LiquiDonate to route near-expiry inventory in four donation events:

May 2024

1 pallet | 750 units | 400 lbs | $7,500 FMV
Plant-based meat (Rollin Greens)

July 2024

3 pallets | 2,628 units | 2,100 lbs | $52,992 FMV
Michelada mix (Miche Mix)

September 2024

1 pallet | 780 units | 450 lbs | $7,752 FMV
Plant-based meat (Rollin Greens)

February 2025

15 pallets | 13,056 units | 11,200 lbs | $156,528 FMV
Michelada mix (Miche Mix)

This consistent pattern demonstrated a repeatable operational use case rather than one-off cleanouts.

The Solution

Manifest integrated LiquiDonate as a structured disposition pathway for time-sensitive inventory.

LiquiDonate provided:

• Rapid nonprofit matching
  
• Shipping and pickup coordination
  
• Documentation and tracking
  
• Impact reporting
  
• Donation records for client tax reporting
  

This created a scalable process for removing expiring product without disrupting daily warehouse operations or taking up valuable warehouse space. 

Operational Results

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1. Warehouse Capacity Recovered

Routing 20 pallets through LiquiDonate freed:

• ~266 square feet of pallet footprint
  
• ~800+ cubic feet of racked warehouse space
  

This allowed Manifest to reallocate capacity to revenue-generating inventory during peak inbound periods.

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2. Disposal Cost Avoidance (Modeled Estimate)

Food destruction and landfill hauling typically ranges from $75–$150 per pallet.

Using conservative midpoint modeling, Manifest saved around $2,000 in destruction costs. 

More importantly, the program reduced labor and operational friction tied to waste management.

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3. Reduced Inventory Dwell Time

Instead of allowing product to sit until mandatory destruction, Manifest gained:

• Faster inventory turnover
  
• Reduced expiry tracking burden
  
• Fewer last-minute peak season cleanouts
  
• Streamlined disposition workflows
  
  

4. Client and ESG Value

The program enabled Manifest’s brand clients to:

• Divert waste from landfill
  
• Support communities in need
  
• Unlock charitable tax value
  
• Strengthen sustainability reporting
  
• Reduce environmental impact
  

Partnership Perspective

“Waste shouldn’t be an inevitable part of logistics. Through our partnership with LiquiDonate, we’re able to redirect excess inventory to communities that need it, keeping product out of landfills and reinforcing our commitment to a more sustainable supply chain. We truly value LiquiDonate as a like-minded partner who makes it simple to turn surplus into meaningful impact.”
– Manifest

Conclusion

This case highlights a growing opportunity across fulfillment networks and 3PLs in particular.

Instead of treating near-expiry or excess inventory as an inconvenient cost center, 3PLs can build a structured donation channel that proactively: 

• Frees pallet capacity
  
• Reduces landfill dependency
  
• Creates a value-added service for clients
  
• Supports sustainability goals
  
• Improves client retention
  
• Differentiates in competitive RFP environments
  

For Manifest, donation is an operational tool—not a reactive cleanup.