Services and the service sector are increasingly important growth motors in the economy and account for more than two thirds of employment and gross value added generated by the EU. They also provide most of the growth in Europe.  However, services are not a panacea. They cannot alone address Europe’s competitiveness issues or replace manufacturing industry.

The success of manufacturing depends, for instance, very much on innovative services like design, marketing and logistics as well as on product related after-sales services and vice versa.

Service innovation is in fact a driver of growth and structural change across the whole economy. It helps to make the entire economy more productive and provides fuel for innovation in other industries. It even has the potential to create new growth poles and lead markets that have a macro-economic impact. Service innovation thus can bring about structural and economic change in our societies by transforming the way we live, do business and interact with each other. (Source:  The Smart Guide to Service Innovation, European Commission, 2013)