A project engineer in country A complains a sample from a supplier in country B is the wrong length. During a call, the supplier checked the drawings and insists the measurement is correct. What should the project manager do next?

The project manager should first evaluate the procurement contract to confirm the agreed-upon specifications. This is a foundational step in conflict resolution and quality management. Discrepancies often arise from differing interpretations of requirements or standards. The contract is the authoritative source for what was agreed upon. Hiring a pre-shipment quality check company is premature; the core issue of differing specifications needs to be resolved first. Escalating to the purchasing department is also premature without first understanding the contractual basis of the dispute. Adding a task to modify the part assumes the supplier is wrong and incurs additional cost and time without confirming the root cause.