Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Kulbinder Garcha of Credit Suisse. Please go ahead.
Kulbinder Garcha - Credit Suisse
Thanks very much. Just a couple of related questions. First of all, you make this comment that you're going to be reinvesting part of your savings into continued product rationalization and investments in the business for the long term.
Could you give us a sense of just what magnitude that is? And does that also apply to the long-term ?1.7 billion of savings you want to make, as in, of that ?1.7 billion, how much might you actually -- how much might shareholders see benefit at the bottom line, so for this year and over the longer term?
Patricia Russo
Okay, I'll comment on this. First of all, I won't comment specifically. I think it's important to appreciate that the markets that we're in, especially some of the emerging markets, are currently very dynamic. And we see the need and the opportunity to selectively make some decisions to invest in areas that we believe the footprint is strategic and important for our long-term growth, and so that's one dynamic.
At the same time, I would add that, as we merge the companies, execute our plans, get to see better additional opportunities, we will also be constantly working to continue to improve our competitiveness and our cost profile.
So we have a lot of moving pieces here. We just thought it was appropriate to note that we remain committed to the ?1.7 billion over three years, but that we would expect that, along the way, we will make some selective choices to invest where we think it makes long-term strategic value-creating benefit for the company.
Operator
Okay, thank you. The next question comes from the line of Mark Sue, RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Mark Sue - RBC Capital Markets
Thank you. I'm just trying to see to what point is the component of the book-to-bill related to pent-up demand and what does the book-to-bill foretell for the back half of the year?
Do you think it's really just timing, or do you really -- do you get the sense that there's strengthening industry trends? Thank you.
Patricia Russo
Mark, let me try to answer that this way. I think there's no question that some of our book-to-bill is reflective of the period of uncertainty that we went through as we were so internally focused on a lot of the merger planning activity and the uncertainty that that represented for not just our people, but obviously our customers. So some of what we saw is a return to more external focus, increasing certainty and, therefore, increasing sales momentum.
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