Cloud HR Software Across 4 Branches in UAE and Qatar: HLM Medical Distribution LLC

About HLM Medical Distribution & The Multi-Branch HR Requirement

HLM Medical Distribution LLC, operating under the trade license of The Dermaklinic LLC, is a UAE-based healthcare and medical product distribution company operating across multiple branches within the UAE and an expanding presence in Qatar. The group operates as three distinct sub-companies, each with its own staff, payroll requirements, and branch location, with a central management function overseeing HR and operations across the entire group.

As the business expanded to a fourth branch in Qatar, the limitations of managing HR manually, or across disconnected systems became critical. The company needed a single cloud-based HR and payroll platform that could manage all three UAE sub-companies and the Qatar branch simultaneously, with biometric attendance integrated at all four locations, and an Employee Self-Service portal for up to 60 staff.

Beyond the core HRMS, the company also required two specific add-ons not typically part of a standard HR implementation: a Fixed Asset Management module to track medical equipment and company assets across all branches, and a customised Petty Cash workflow tailored to their branch-level financial operations. TrueBays was selected to deliver the complete solution, from core HR to integrations and custom add-ons.

• Client

  HLM Medical Distribution LLC (The Dermaklinic LLC)

• Industry

  Healthcare & Medical Distribution

• Branches

  4 Locations — UAE (3) + Qatar (1)

• Sub-Companies

  3 Entities on One Platform

• Deployment

  Cloud-Based (AWS)

• ESS Users

  60 Employee Self-Service Licenses

• Solution

  HRMS + ESS + Biometric (4 sites) + Fixed Assets + Petty Cash

HR Challenges for a Growing Healthcare Distribution Group Expanding Across UAE and Qatar

Managing HR across a multi-branch, multi-entity, multi-country healthcare business creates a specific combination of operational challenges that standalone HR tools cannot solve. HLM Medical was dealing with five core problems:

1. Qatar Expansion Required a Cross-Border HR Solution: Adding a fourth branch in Qatar meant the company needed an HR system that could manage employees under Qatar labour law and payroll requirements alongside its UAE operations, all within one platform. A UAE-only HR system could not accommodate the Qatar branch without creating a separate disconnected system, which would defeat the purpose of centralised HR management.

2. Three Sub-Companies Needed Separate but Connected HR Management: Each of the three UAE sub-companies is a legally distinct entity with its own employees and payroll structure. Running three separate HR systems was inefficient and expensive, but a single flat system with no company separation would mix employee records and payroll data, creating compliance risks. The solution needed to support both separation and consolidated oversight simultaneously.

3. Attendance Tracking Across 4 Locations Was Inconsistent: With staff working across four branches including Qatar, attendance was tracked using existing biometric devices at each site. However, these devices were not connected to any central HR system, meaning attendance data had to be extracted manually from each device and consolidated at month-end before payroll could be processed. This created delays and introduced errors into the payroll calculation process every month.

4. Fixed Assets Scattered Across Branches With No Tracking System: Medical equipment, devices, and company assets were distributed across all four branch locations with no centralised asset register. There was no visibility into what assets existed at each location, their condition, or their depreciation status, a particular risk for a healthcare distribution business where equipment tracking has both operational and compliance implications.

5. Petty Cash Processes Varied Across Branches: Each branch handled petty cash differently, with no standardised workflow or digital approval process. Consolidating petty cash reporting across four locations for the finance team was a manual, time-consuming exercise each month, and one that was impossible to audit reliably without a system-enforced workflow.