Cross-Industry Innovation: When the Value Chain Becomes a Driver
In an interconnected world, innovation rarely belongs to a single sector. More and more, it emerges from the ability to connect different industries and generate cross-sector solutions.
Consider a few examples:
- Electric mobility: behind every electric vehicle lies a network of industries. Mining supplies lithium and other critical minerals; the chemical industry transforms them into active materials; battery manufacturers integrate technology and scale; the energy infrastructure builds charging systems; automakers redesign entire platforms; governments accelerate adoption through regulations and fiscal incentives; and finally, battery recycling ensures circularity. None of these players, on their own, could sustain the transition.
- Agri-food: reducing waste and enabling healthier diets depends on multiple factors. Animal and plant genetics are already moving toward design-based selection —beyond Darwin’s natural selection— to develop, for example, pigs with fats richer in omega-3 instead of omega-6. Added to this are biotechnology, the cold chain, active-barrier packaging, and smart logistics. And the impact extends even beyond its own chain: improved nutrition benefits the health industry by preventing chronic diseases, and pharmaceutical companies, which develop supplements and treatments associated with better diets.
- Healthcare: a biotechnological treatment or a vaccine reaches patients only through the coordination of multiple sectors. The pharmaceutical industry develops the active ingredient; specialized sterile packaging guarantees safety; the cold chain ensures stability; insurers and public health systems enable access. Today, artificial intelligence further accelerates vaccine safety by simulating responses before mass clinical trials.
The key is that these innovations do not emerge in a vacuum. They are born from the interaction of different links within the value chain and, often, from the dialogue with complementary industries that, while not part of the same circuit, amplify the impact of innovation.
In practice, however, many ideas stall. An innovation may be evident for the end consumer or the producer, yet irrelevant—or even costly—for another participant in the chain. That lack of alignment is one of the greatest obstacles to turning innovation into reality.
This is where a holistic perspective makes the difference. An actor who understands the entire chain can:
- Align incentives so that every link perceives clear benefits.
- Share risks and investments that would otherwise block progress.
- Accelerate adoption of technologies that benefit the whole, not just one part.
Cross-industry innovation becomes a true driver when someone can orchestrate all the players. At that point, the value lies not only in inventing something new, but in making innovation flow across the entire value chain—and beyond it.
