With the economy in India slowing, a global professional services company has launched a new cloud-based operational excellence platform that may help solve some of the country’s ongoing manufacturing issues.

The platform, called EY Catalyst, is designed to allow for access to massive amounts of supply chain and manufacturing capabilities data. It also integrates best practices from methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma and the latest machine-learning innovations that can automate many processes.

By most accounts, India’s economy offers many opportunities to leverage this new product. The country currently faces its slowest economic growth since 2014.

What Is EY Catalyst?

Developed by EY, a worldwide professional services organization with global headquarters in London,  EY Catalyst is a cloud-based system that gives businesses access to a large database of supply chain and manufacturing information. The database, available in multiple languages, is used by companies in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America.

Essentially, it is a process improvement platform that combines best practices from methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma with technology innovations that include the Internet of Things, machine learning and augmented reality.

Businesses can use the system to access both data and tools such as self-assessments and journey maps. The system offers analytics capabilities that organizations can leverage to better map, manage and monitor process improvements.

The goal is more efficient operations and elimination of wasted time, effort and money within an organization’s operational activities.

The Situation In India

Can companies in India benefit from such a system? The answer, based on recent economic numbers, appears to be, “yes.”

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by just 5.7% in India between April and June 2017, the slowest such growth since the beginning of 2014. And a large portion of that came from increased government spending.

Private industry in India grew by only 4.3%.

While a growth rate of more than 2% is generally considered good among developed nations, India faces a different situation, according to the BBC. The country needs a growth rate of 7% to continue pulling millions out of poverty.

The country also faces issues with a convoluted tax system and a set of labor laws, but businesses also can benefit from the kind of continuous process improvement that EY Catalyst supports.

“Indian companies increasingly want to integrate process improvement methodologies that can improve top-line growth as well as bottom-line productivity goals,” Ashish Nanda, EY’s partner and India leader in supply chain advisory services, said in a new release.

Nanda said EY Catalyst supports the “continuous improvement culture” needed not just in India but in organizations worldwide.