Book publisher Hachette UK will consolidate its distribution operations at a new automated distribution centre in Didcot from 2018.

The move will signal the closure of its Littlehampton warehouse and officers the following year.

The new site will also see Hachette replace its warehouse management and sales order processing systems, with software from suppliers including SAP and JDA.

Building work for the new distribution centre is due to begin before the end of 2016 with a view to completion in the second half of 2017, before a carefully phased transition to the new site in 2018.

Hachette UK CEO Tim Hely Hutchinson said the new site will be Britain’s “most efficient, most sophisticated distribution centre with world-class systems to provide superb service.”

Chief operating officer Chris Emerson added: “The major changes and improvements that we plan for our systems and operating processes mean that it is no longer efficient to split our distribution business between two locations, using systems built for another era.”