Reducing Fulfilment Cost with Crash Lock Boxes: Curveball Leisure Case Study

Curveball Leisure Ltd is an established UK distributor specialising in video games, consoles, and gaming accessories, supplying both domestic and international markets. Operating from its headquarters in Swansea, the business manages a complex supply chain that spans warehousing, distribution, retail, and customer support functions.

With a strong focus on delivering high quality products efficiently to customers, Curveball Leisure has built its reputation on reliable fulfilment and scalable operations. However, like many growing ecommerce and distribution businesses, increasing order volumes placed pressure on their packing processes, highlighting the need for a more efficient, streamlined packaging solution.

As order demand increased, Curveball Leisure began to experience inefficiencies within their fulfilment workflow. Their existing packaging setup relied heavily on traditional 0201 boxes across 15 different sizes, alongside envelopes. While this provided flexibility, it also introduced unnecessary complexity.

Packing operations were slowed down by the need to manually assemble boxes and physically adjust their height using tools. This not only increased packing time but also introduced inconsistency into the process. In addition, the mismatch between box sizes and products meant excessive void fill was often required plus packaging tape to seal the boxes, adding both time and material cost to each order.

For a fast moving ecommerce operation, these inefficiencies were directly impacting labour costs and overall fulfilment speed.

Following the launch of Lil Packaging’s crash lock boxes range, Richard Pearce, Operations and Supply Manager at Curveball Leisure, immediately recognised the potential the new boxes could bring to their fulfilment operation and got in touch with Fred. Seeing how the crash lock design could solve the packing inefficiencies they were experiencing, Richard was excited by the opportunity to improve speed and reduce labour time. 

By reducing their packaging to just four crash lock boxes: VH-CSP001, VH-CSP003, VH-Small and VH-Medium, they were able to streamline their operations significantly. These boxes feature a pop-up base that assembles instantly, removing the need for taping and reducing handling time.

Crucially, the introduction of variable-height functionality eliminated the need for tools. Packers can quickly adjust the height of each box using pre-defined perforations, ensuring a closer fit to the product inside. This not only speeds up packing but also reduces reliance on void fill materials.

The Lil Crashlock range also features a twin peel & seal closure, eliminating the need for extra packaging tape and time spent sealing the box.

Whilst the boxes are currently supplied unprinted, Curveball Leisure plans to introduce custom printed crash lock boxes in the near future to further enhance their brand presentation.

The transition to crash lock boxes delivered immediate and measurable improvements across Curveball Leisure’s fulfilment operation.

Packing processes became significantly faster, with a reported reduction of over 60% in packing labour time. The simplified box range reduced decision making during packing, while the pop-up construction removed unnecessary steps from the process.

As Richard Pearce explained:

“The new crashlock is absolutely amazing and will continue to bring further efficiency to our B2C operations, saving over 60% of our packing labour time.”

The variable-height design also ensured that each parcel was better optimised to its contents, reducing the need for void fill and contributing to both cost savings and improved packing consistency.

For Curveball Leisure, the shift to crash lock boxes wasn’t just a packaging change. It was an operational upgrade.

By combining instant assembly with variable-height adaptability, crash lock boxes removed multiple friction points from the packing process. The result is a faster, more consistent workflow that scales more effectively with business growth, while also reducing material usage and labour dependency.